Artlog

Dia:Beacon is a museum for Dia Art Foundation’s renowned collection of art from the 1960s to the present.In May 2003, Dia opened Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, a museum to house its renowned but rarely seen permanent collection comprised of major works of art from the 1960s to the present. Located on the Hudson River in Beacon, New York, Dia:Beacon occupies a nearly 300,000-square-foot historic printing factory. The museum is named in honor of Louise and Leonard Riggio for their extraordinary generosity, which has made possible the realization of this museum dedicated to Dia’s collection.

Since its founding in 1974, Dia has been dedicated to supporting individual artists and to providing long-term, in-depth presentations of their art. The Beacon museum’s expansive galleries have been specifically designed for the display of the artworks to which Dia is committed, many of which, because of their character or scale, could not be easily accommodated by more conventional museums.

Works installed at the museum range from Andy Warhol’s 1978 Shadows (a single work comprising multiple canvases); to three of Richard Serra’s monumental sculptures in the Torqued Ellipses; “monuments” for V. Tatlin, a series of fluorescent light works by Dan Flavin; several mixed-media installations by Joseph Beuys and Agnes Martin√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s 1999 paintings Innocent Love, among others. Each artist√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s work is displayed in a dedicated gallery or galleries: in many cases these presentations were created in collaboration with the artists themselves.

Dia collaborated with American artist Robert Irwin and architect OpenOffice to formulate the plan for the museum building and its exterior setting. Irwin’s masterplan includes gardens for the exterior and a parking lot with a grove of flowering fruit trees.

The Collection Assembled largely during the 1970s and early 1980s by Dia’s founders, Philippa de Menil and Heiner Friedrich, the original collection included works by some of the most important artists of the 1960s and 1970s, including Joseph Beuys, John Chamberlain, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Imi Knoebel, Blinky Palermo, Fred Sandback, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, and Robert Whitman.

Anticipating the creation of the Beacon museum, this collection has been significantly augmented with works by artists of the same generation as those Dia historically supported. These include Bernd and Hilla Becher, Louise Bourgeois, Michael Heizer, Robert Irwin, On Kawara, Sol LeWitt, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Robert Ryman, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, and Lawrence Weiner. To further develop the presentation, Dia is extending its holdings of works by artists already represented in its collection.

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Tours

Dia:Beacon Education Tours Guided and unguided tours are available for school groups (k-12) with advance arrangements.

Dia:Beacon Saturday Public Tours Dia:Beacon provides guided tours every Saturday at 1 pm. Tours are free with admission. Reservations are not necessary but can be made in person at the admissions desk.

Dia:Beacon Group Tours Tours of Dia:Beacon are available to groups of 10-50, with advance reservations.

Dia:Beacon Unguided Tours A special admission rate is available for unguided groups. Advance reservations are required.

Enjoy a guided or unguided visit to Dia:Beacon with a group. Groups may visit during the museum’s open hours (refer to seasonal days and hours). Special discounts are available for groups of 10 or more with advanced reservations.