80 some minutes outside of the city in the Hudson Valley is Beacon, New York. By taking Metro-North
out of Grand Central Station you can take the east line towards
Poughkeepsie, get off at Beacon and find yourself a short walk from
Dia:Beacon. Taken directly from the museums brochure;
Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries opened in May 2003 as the presentation facility for the collection and a series of exhibitions and performances. Dia:Beacon occupies a former Nabisco box-printing factory build in 1929 and offers 240,000 square feet of exhibition space, most of which is illuminated by natural light. In collaboration with the architecture firm OpenOffice, artist Robert Irwin designed the interior spare, the building vestibule and forecourt, as well as the surrounding landscape.
Assembled during the 1970s and early 1980s, Dia's original collection includes artworks by Joseph Beuys, John Chamberlain, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Imi Knoebel, Blinky Palermo, Fred Sandback, Franz Erhard Walther, Andy Warhol, and Robert Whitman.
I know being a graphic designer that most would think that I adore art museums of all sorts and visit them on a frequent basis but it's quite the opposite. I enjoy all art but don't mind admiring it from afar, say a website or a book. I appreciate it but it needs to be something pretty absurd and interesting to get my butt in front of it. The trip to Dia:Beacon was spur-of-the-night-before and promised a pretty train ride and a cute town to boot. The town is more or less a drag but I recommend the museum to everyone who has the time. Go when it's bright and sunny out so you can appreciate the great sky lights and naturally light artwork. Walking through and being able to really grasp the space the collection took up made each exhibit special and exciting. The museum's interior design caters to each artist. It fits comfortably in the space. I was so affected by the light that while I was left feeling a bit down after a walk through main street (think sad, slow forgotten town) that I was almost instantly snapped back and energized to go through each and every part of the space.
My personal favorites was the Agnes Martin and Michael Heizer collections. Quite different but equally engaging I found myself thinking about the entire trip to Dia:Beacon for the rest of the weekend. So if you have the time and want to get out of the city for a few hours I highly recommend the trip.
Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries opened in May 2003 as the presentation facility for the collection and a series of exhibitions and performances. Dia:Beacon occupies a former Nabisco box-printing factory build in 1929 and offers 240,000 square feet of exhibition space, most of which is illuminated by natural light. In collaboration with the architecture firm OpenOffice, artist Robert Irwin designed the interior spare, the building vestibule and forecourt, as well as the surrounding landscape.
Assembled during the 1970s and early 1980s, Dia's original collection includes artworks by Joseph Beuys, John Chamberlain, Walter De Maria, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Imi Knoebel, Blinky Palermo, Fred Sandback, Franz Erhard Walther, Andy Warhol, and Robert Whitman.
I know being a graphic designer that most would think that I adore art museums of all sorts and visit them on a frequent basis but it's quite the opposite. I enjoy all art but don't mind admiring it from afar, say a website or a book. I appreciate it but it needs to be something pretty absurd and interesting to get my butt in front of it. The trip to Dia:Beacon was spur-of-the-night-before and promised a pretty train ride and a cute town to boot. The town is more or less a drag but I recommend the museum to everyone who has the time. Go when it's bright and sunny out so you can appreciate the great sky lights and naturally light artwork. Walking through and being able to really grasp the space the collection took up made each exhibit special and exciting. The museum's interior design caters to each artist. It fits comfortably in the space. I was so affected by the light that while I was left feeling a bit down after a walk through main street (think sad, slow forgotten town) that I was almost instantly snapped back and energized to go through each and every part of the space.
My personal favorites was the Agnes Martin and Michael Heizer collections. Quite different but equally engaging I found myself thinking about the entire trip to Dia:Beacon for the rest of the weekend. So if you have the time and want to get out of the city for a few hours I highly recommend the trip.
