Dia’s Jessica Morgan is profiled in Vogue this week, underscoring her unique perspectives and highly praised vision as a curator. “She really goes deep, deep, deep,” says Urs Fischer. “She digs herself in.” (more…)
Dia Art Foundation has announced Jessica Morgan (curator of international art at London’s Tate Modern) will take over for Philippe Vergne as director of the New York arts organization. Morgan has a challenging road ahead of her, including stalled plans for Dia to build a new museum for its collection between Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, and will seek to negotiate the demands of such a space with the foundation’s longstanding commitment to living artists. “It has to be a relationship that’s relevant to the current moment,” she says. “It can’t rest on a notion of its past.” (more…)
The LA Times has published an in-depth profile of newly announced MOCA Director Philippe Vergne, examining his “collegial” arts background, and his vision for a new, “Artist Enabling” Museum. Particularly of note is Vergne’s plans to refraine from curating shows himself. “My role as a director is to enable curators to be what they are at the highest level. By doing that, you enable the artist,” he says. (more…)
Dia Fall Gala, atmosphere (during Matmos commission). All images courtesy Dia Art Foundation.
Last Monday’s Dia Art Foundation Fall Gala was a striking affair. Video projections, sound, light-play, chatter, and music gave the cavernous venue its mystical feel, all accompanied by a commission by experimental electronic music duo Matmos, whose performance was reminiscent of a spiritual journey. Even so, the full series of events and installations fell in line with the framework of minimal and progressive art that the Dia Art Foundation specializes in bringing to the public through an array of different channels.
Dinner, atmosphere. (more…)
The Michigan county of Oakland, one of three that approved property tax increases to help bankroll the Detroit Institute of the Arts operating budget last year, has unanimously approved a resolution stating that any attempt to sell works from the DIA Collection to benefit the city’s creditors would “terminate any obligation” of the county to continue support. Oakland, along with Wayne and Macomb counties, is projected to contribute $250 million to the museum over 10years, and stated that it “continues to believe that the museum and its collections are important, irreplaceable and indivisible parts of the cultural fiber of the state and region.” (more…)
The Detroit Free Press reports that city emergency manager Kevyn Orr has contracted Christie’s to appraise a portion of the Detroit Institute of Arts‘ city-owned collection. While some have taken this as a further step in the potential selloff of much of the DIA’s collection, Orr himself spoke out on the contrary: “There has never been, nor is there now, any plan to sell art. This valuation, as well as the valuation of other City assets, is an integral part of the restructuring process. It is a step the city must take to reach resolutions with its creditors and secure a viable, strong future for Detroit and its residents.” (more…)
Graham Beal, the current Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, has published a letter in the New York Times, asking journalists and analysts to refrain from overt speculation and panic on the future of the city’s museum. “True, any successful effort to liquidate D.I.A. art would precipitate a series of events likely to lead to its closing, but we are a very long way from actions that would ‘denude its prestigious collection of its most valuable artworks. ‘We believe that a healthy D.I.A. is, in fact, a crucial component in any recovery of the city of Detroit.” He writes. (more…)
With Dia’s announcement last month that it would deaccession some of its works in order to fund new acquisitions, a number of former leaders and collaborators have spoken against the move. The sale of works, which will occur this fall, includes a number of works by Cy Twombly and Barnett Newman. In a June 28th letter to the institution, former Menil Collection Director Paul Winkler writes: “The primary purpose of Dia has been to collect and present bodies of work by a select group of artists in permanent installations and to realize site-specific commissions, also in permanent situations. It is uninformed and disrespectful of your history to equate permanence with mausoleum.” (more…)
This coming November, the Dia Foundation will auction a number of its works in order to increase its resources for further acquisitions. The decision follows the Foundation’s recent purchase of the Alcamo Marble building, for its new Chelsea location. “Dia cannot be a mausoleum, (…) It needs to grow and develop” says Dia director, Philippe Vergne. Among the works to be sold are pieces by Cy Twombly, Barnett Newman, and Richard Chamberlain. (more…)
Gavin Brown Enterprise. All photos on site for Art Observed by Aubrey Roemer.
March 8–11 marked the third edition of INDEPENDENT, the alternative exhibition forum held in the former DIA Center for the Arts on West 22nd Street in Chelsea. Founded by gallerists Elizabeth Dee and Darren Flook in conjunction with White Columns’ Matthew Higgs, Independent has established itself as a thoughtful and ambitious counterpoint to the annual Armory Art Show. This year marked the fair’s largest audience with attendance figures surpassing fifteen thousand. The forty-three participating organizations range from established blue chip galleries to emerging galleries as well as respected non-profits.
