Following a two-year-long renovation and expansion project, the new Dia Chelsea will reopen to the public on April 16, 2021. On reopening, admission to Dia Chelsea will be permanently free, making all of Dia’s five sites and locations in New York City free to the public. Find out more about visiting Dia Chelsea here.
Dia Chelsea reopens with an exhibition of newly commissioned works by Lucy Raven. Following a three-year engagement with Dia, Raven presents Casters X-2 + Casters X-3 (2021), an installation of kinetic light sculptures that belongs to her ongoing Casters series (2016– ); and Ready Mix (2021) an immersive installation featuring a forty-five-minute film shot over two years at a concrete plant in central Idaho. Together, these projects address the formation, depiction, and surveillance of landscapes and civic spaces, proposing abstraction as a tool for (re)perceiving these sites.
“Dia has long been distinguished by its artist-centric approach, which has enabled the realization of complex projects that would have otherwise been impossible to create due to their scale and duration. Raven’s inaugural commission for Dia Chelsea embodies our commitment to this ideal,” said Jessica Morgan, Dia’s Nathalie de Gunzburg director. “I am delighted to activate the galleries with Raven's commission and to finally provide a permanent home for Dia in this neighborhood so we can continue to expand the role we play in local and international arts ecologies.”
Continuing Dia’s history of repurposing and revitalizing existing buildings, the renovation retains the character and vernacular of the Chelsea neighborhood of which Dia has been a part since the 1980s. Designed by Architecture Research Office, the 32,500-square-foot project merges Dia’s three contiguous Chelsea buildings to support a more cohesive visitor experience. The new Dia Chelsea will feature 20,000-square-feet of integrated street-level galleries for exhibitions, a new flexible space for public and educational programs, and the return of Dia’s bookstore to the city. Dia has also extended Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Eichen (7000 Oaks) along West 22nd Street, bringing the total number of paired basalt columns and trees to 38.
The renovation in Chelsea is part of a comprehensive multiyear campaign to advance Dia’s mission, program, resources, and facilities. Alongside the revitalization of Dia Chelsea, the project encompasses: the future launch of Dia SoHo (a 2,500-square-foot exhibition space at 77 Wooster Street) and simultaneous revitalization of two nearby, landmark installations by Walter De Maria; the restoration and expansion of Dia Beacon’s lower-level galleries and landscaping; and the strengthening of Dia’s endowment, supporting operations across all sites and the growth and conservation of its collection. Dia is working with Architecture Research Office on all of its forthcoming building projects.
Dia Art Foundation
Taking its name from the Greek word meaning “through,” Dia was established in 1974 with the mission to serve as a conduit for artists to realize ambitious new projects, unmediated by overt interpretation and uncurbed by the limitations of more traditional museums and galleries. In addition to Dia Beacon and Dia Chelsea, Dia maintains and operates a constellation of commissions, long-term installations, site-specific projects, and Land art, nationally and internationally.
For additional information or materials, visit diaart.org, email press [at] diaart.org, or call 212 293 5518.
