Beyond NY: Contemporary Art at Dia:Beacon in Beautiful Dutchess County, NY

The sanctuary for contemporary art fans, this unique and fascinating art space in Beacon, NY will be a highlight of your trip to Dutchess County,  NY

Located in the south-west corner of Dutchess County, the city of Beacon is having its renaissance with colorful art-galleries, artistic collectives, unions and institutes lining up its main street and adding to its creative vibe. Only hour and a half train ride from the city, Beacon offers its visitors a reformative experience of green countryside and vibrant artworks.

Stay in the know about future events and offers by subscribing to ARTS-NY newsletter     Subscribe

Its most alluring treasure, Dia: Beacon, the art and exhibition space that occupies former industrial box-printing facility for Nabisco (National Biscuit Company) factory, is a delight for contemporary art connoisseurs and those who are open to stepping into an unknown territory. Dia: Beacon collection includes paintings, photographs, sculpture, and multi-media works. What strikes the visitors entering the museum are the streams of natural light. Many of the works are site-specific to fit the space and its lighting arrangements in the most artistically productive way. Andy Warhol, Richard Serra, Gerhard Richter and other contemporary masters contributed and created works for Dia installed here for a long-term or permanently. This type of arrangement seems to slow down the passage of time and makes the artwork an integral part of the space itself.

Explore the collection at your own pace or join an informative tour which highlights the works selectively.

The museum site design was done by an American artist and architect Robert Irwin. He kept many of the original structures intact while planning out the grounds and the garden surrounding the building. He designed a slanted entrance way into the museum. The inclined walls create a sense of “sucking in” the visitors. Another interesting feature of Irwin’s landscape design is in creating the natural green walls with the tall rectangular shape of the trees lining up the pathways.

The original facility occupied now by Dia was constructed with close attention to good natural lighting which was important for graphic design and picture layout in the production of boxes. Those north-facing skylights give the galleries and halls of Dia an airy feel that inspire the creative spirit. This is particularly evident in the front halls which now showcase Walter De Maria 360 I Ching / 64 Sculptures on a long-term view and the galleries housing the works by On Kawara, Blinky Palermo or Anne Truitt.

Each artist works are exhibited in a dedicated gallery. Kawara’s gallery fills its walls with the cycle “Today Series”. Each artwork depicts the date of the painting’s creation memorialized in white letters in the manner customary to the geographic place where it was made. Each work was completed in one day. Kawara, in general, is very fond of creating cycles. He is probably best-known for One Million Years which is a performance art piece as the two participants take turns reciting the years pre and post the artwork conception which imitates a passage of time in the most literal sense.

The abundance of daylight in the enormous front halls particularly on sunny days has almost a therapeutic effect. In contrast, the basement which is as large as the main floor is starkly dark and almost gloomy. The main space in the basement is occupied by the immersive “No End Neon” installation by Francois Morellet. Morellet was experimenting with the geometric forms, the elements of number theory and neon lights throughout his career. The work on view at Dia combines the regularity of the hall structures with the neon light creating a fleeting perspective.

Another play on light and space is Gerhard Richter’s Six Gray Mirrors installation. It occupies a spacious room with the light streaming in from the high windows. The mirrors are positioned at various angles which deepens the reflection and absorbs everything around into a gray monochrome. One can feel itself literally inside the mirror.

A couple of small galleries down is a rare Richard Serra drawing on the walls which lets the viewer to step inside the drawing by walking through the gallery. More of Serra’s familiar larger than life sculptures are installed in what used to be a train depot inside the factory. The enormity of the Torqued Ellipses creates a disorienting experience of losing control to a structure when navigating the maze. Take a deep breath when outside and regain your self-control by following the yin and yang patterns of De Maria’s I Ching in the airy front halls.

Stay in the know about future events and offers by subscribing to ARTS-NY newsletter     Subscribe

Repurposing old industrial structures and turning them into an attractive exhibition hall or art museum is not new. Two of the most famous examples are Musee d’Orsay in Paris which is housed in the former railway station, Gare d’Orsay, and Tate Modern in London housed in the old power plant, Bankside Power Station. Dia: Beacon with its magnificent contemporary art collection and nearly 300,000-square-foot museum space is another example of how art institution moving into an obsolete structure revitalizes the area by breathing in the life and preserving the history.

The city of Beacon has a lot to offer, so if you decide to stay overnight and explore it check out Dutchess County Tourism for the lodging options and much more.

Dia: Beacon is walking distance from the Beacon train station with only 90 mins train ride from the city.

Venue: Dia: Beacon, 3 Beekman Street, Beacon, New York 12508