Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 as the Lone Star Foundation by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil and an heiress to the Schlumberger oil exploration fortune; art dealer Heiner Friedrich, Philippa's husband; and Helen Winkler, a Houston art historian. Dia wanted to support projects "whose nature or scale would preclude other funding sources."
The name “Dia,” taken from the Greek word meaning “through,” was chosen to suggest the institution’s role in enabling artistic projects that might not otherwise be realized.
Dia holds a major collection of work by artists of the 1960s and 1970s, on view at Dia:Beacon opened in the Hudson Valley in 2003. Dia additionally maintains long-term site-specific projects in the western United States, New York City, and on Long Island. Dia’s permanent collection holdings include artworks by artists who came to prominence during the 1960s and 1970s, including Joseph Beuys, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, and Andy Warhol. The art of this period represented a radical departure in artistic practice and is often large in scale; it is occasionally ephemeral or site-specific.
Currently, Dia commissions, supports, and presents site-specific installations and long-term exhibitions of work by these artists, as well as those of younger generations.
Read more about Dia Art Foundation: History, Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, Dia:Chelsea, Partnership With The Hispanic Society
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