The DIA Art Foundation is a renowned nonprofit organization dedicated to contemporary art. It was established in 1974 by a group of artists and philanthropists with the goal of supporting and promoting ambitious artistic projects that challenge traditional boundaries. The foundation is widely recognized for its commitment to artists' visions and the creation of immersive experiences that engage audiences in thought-provoking ways.
Dia Art Foundation is committed to advancing, realizing, and preserving the vision of artists.
The Dia Art Foundation has organized numerous influential art shows and exhibitions throughout its history. While it is challenging to highlight the "most famous" ones due to the subjective nature of artistic appreciation, there are several notable exhibitions that have left a lasting impact on the art world. Here are two examples:
Fred Sandback Long-term view, Dia Beacon
Using subtle methods and an economy of materials, Fred Sandback’s work creates striking perceptual effects in response to the surrounding architecture. Using store-bought spools of colored yarn, Sandback traced the space between different points on floors, ceilings, and walls, creating shapes and constructing the illusion of a pane of glass or shimmering lines of color. Previously on view since the opening of Dia Beacon in 2003, and following a pause of three years, a long-term installation of several of Sandback’s yarn works from Dia’s collection returns to the galleries in winter 2021. Support provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies Video by SandenWolff Interviews/story editing by Rachel Wolff Shot by Noah Therrien and Jonathan Sanden Edited by Jonathan Sanden and Stephen Parnigoni Associate editor Tova Wolff Original music by Noah Therrien Archival video by Patrick Heilman Dia Project Staff: Karey David, Katherine Ellis, Laura Fields, Hannah Gompertz, Matilde Guidelli Guidi, Jenn Kane, Deirdre O’Dwyer, and Dan Wolfe Special thanks to Amy Sandback and David Gray © 2022 Dia Art Foundation All artwork and text by Fred Sandback © 2022 Fred Sandback Archive
Joan Jonas
Long-term view, Dia Beacon
This exhibition brings together three collection works by Joan Jonas, a founding figure of video and performance art of the 1960s and 1970s. Presented in Dia Beacon’s lower-level galleries, the exhibition features the large-scale multimedia installation The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things (2004), which was commissioned as a performance for Dia Art Foundation in 2005–06, and two recently acquired works, Stage Sets and After Mirage (Cones/May Windows) (both 1976). Collectively, the three works present a compelling trajectory of Jonas’s oeuvre from the pivotal year of 1976, when Jonas decisively turned to translating nonlinear performance and video into performance installations, to the evolution of the artist’s work thirty years later.
Support provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies
Directed and edited by Graham Mason
Director of Photography: Ian McAlpin
Sound Mixer: Ryan McGlade
Original music for interview video composed by Bennett Young
Piano score for The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things composed and performed by Jason Moran
Interview conducted by Kelly Kivland
Dia Project Staff: Karey David, Katherine Ellis, Laura Fields, Hannah Gompertz, Jenn Kane, Kelly Kivland, Theodora Bocanegra Lang, Deirdre O’Dwyer, and Dan Wolfe
Special thanks to Joan Jonas
© 2022 Dia Art Foundation
All works by Joan Jonas © 2022 Joan Jonas/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York
These exhibitions and installations represent just a fraction of the Dia Art Foundation's rich and diverse history of supporting groundbreaking artistic projects. Each show pushes the boundaries of traditional art forms, engages with the environment, and invites viewers to interact with art in new and transformative ways.
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