In the middle of probably the longest series of works ever carried out by Andy Warhol, "Shadows", the Director of Dia, Michael Govan gives his presentation speech to the press in anticipation of the opening on Sunday 18 May of the new Dia Center in Beacon (in an ex biscuit box factory on the banks of the Hudson river covering an area of almost 100 000 square metres). He describes briefly, but impeccably, the history and aims of the project, recounting the desires, original impressions as well as intuitions which influenced the choice of such a unique building.
Admirably reconverted by artist Robert Irwin and the Open Office studio, the new Dia site is destined to become a dignified cheap alternative to the phantasmagorics of the Guggenheim, thanks to an exceptional collection of works and artists (mainly American) who since the sixties have been transforming the notion of art.
It’s enough to name just a few of the works that have been either reconstructed or specially created - the series of Monuments/Homages to Tatlin by Dan Flavin which runs across the whole length of an entire wing of the building, or the room of the Six Grey Mirrors by Gerhard Richter, who sets aside painting but in the enormity of the reflective surfaces, despite their opaqueness, offers the observer the unnerving effect of their own image and that of the surroundings, reflected and filtered through the eye of the German artist.
Dia:Beacon
3 Beekman street, Beacon, NY
T +1-845-4400100
E-mail: info@diaart.org
http://www.diabeacon.org
