Dia Art Foundation Celebration Honors Artist Robert Irwin

The Dia Art Foundation hosted its annual Spring Benefit at Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries, in Beacon, New York on Sunday, May 19, 2013—ten years after it opened its doors on the banks of the Hudson River. The 2013 Spring Benefit honored artist Robert Irwin for his master plan for Dia:Beacon’s conversion from a factory building, with special remarks from Philippe Vergne, Director, Dia Art Foundation, and Nathalie de Gunzburg, Chairman, Dia Art Foundation.

The Benefit began with a morning reception, followed by an anniversary toast in Dia:Beacon’s gallery devoted to Andy Warhol and seated luncheon amongst John Chamberlain’s sculptures. A children’s program was offered during lunch for the younger guests. Throughout the day guests explored a new presentation of works by Alighiero e Boetti from Dia’s collection and experienced a live reading of On Kawara’s multi-volume work, One Million Years, both presented for the first time at Dia:Beacon. The proceeds raised from the event support Dia:Beacon’s exhibitions and dynamic public and educational programming. Images from the benefit are available upon request.

This year’s benefit was co-chaired by Dia Trustees Frances Bowes, Virginia Lebermann, and Charles B. Wright, as well as Diana and Jonathan F.P. Rose.
Dia director Philippe Vergne and Dia chairman Nathalie de Gunzburg and her husband Charles de Gunzburg attended, along with Dia trustees Christopher Bass with his wife Genevieve Bass, Marc Booth and his wife Lauren Booth, Virginia Lebermann and her husband John Wotowicz, Brice Marden and his daughter Mirabelle Marden, Marissa Sackler, Jimmy Traboulsi, and Charles Wright and his wife Barbara Wright.

Philanthropists and art supporters included Cynthia and Robert Abrams, Muriel Brandolini, Gavin Brown, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Kyle DeWoody, Susan Dunlevy, Rebecca and Marty Eisenberg, Prudence Fairweather, Lyn and John Fischbach, Marc Glimcher, Eugenia Gonzalez, Rena and Scott Hoffman, Edward Lee, Julian Lethbridge, Carol LeWitt, Kim and Michael McCarty, Marian McEvoy, Genny and Selmo Nissenbaum, Bettina and James Prentice, Warrie and James Price, Liz and Kirk Radke, Jonathan and Diana Rose, Donna and Benjamin Rosen, Sophia Sanchez, Alison Spear and Alex Reese, Christine Stanton and Jean-Michel Wasterlain, Marianne Stockebrand, Ann Tenenbaum, and Helen and Peter Warwick.

Other notable guests included Dia cofounder Helen Winkler Fosdick, City of Beacon Mayor Randy Casale, New York State Senator Terry Gipson, Congressman Sean Maloney, and Swiss Consul Thomas Schneider. There were also a number of artists in attendance, including honoree Robert Irwin, as well as Jennifer Allora, Guillermo Calzadilla, David Diao, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Lawrence Weiner, Robert Whitman, La Monte Young, and Marian Zazeela.

Natural beauty company Aesop, who has partnered with Dia since 2011, provided a special gift to honor Dia:Beacon’s 10th anniversary, and drinks were generously provided by Cointreau, FIJI Water, illy caffè, and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. Décor concept was designed by Annalisa Milella, event design and production was by Cait & Jules, and catering was by Olivier Cheng Catering and Events.

Dia:Beacon
In May 2003, Dia Art Foundation opened Dia:Beacon, unveiling its collection of art from the 1960s to the present. In keeping with Dia’s history of single-artist presentations, each gallery of the former Nabisco box-printing factory was designed to present the work of one artist in depth. A decade later, Dia:Beacon continues to support Dia’s mission through the presentation and scholarship of the collection as well as special exhibitions, performances, new commissions, and education programs.

Dia Art Foundation
Dia Art Foundation, founded in 1974, is committed to initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving extraordinary art projects. Dia:Beacon opened in May 2003 in Beacon, New York. Dia also maintains several long-term, site-specific projects including Walter De Maria’s The New York Earth Room (1977) and The Broken Kilometer (1979), Max Neuhaus’s Times Square (1977), Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Oaks (1988), and Dan Flavin’s untitled (1996), all in Manhattan; the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton, New York; De Maria’s The Vertical Earth Kilometer (1977) in Kassel, Germany; Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970) in the Great Salt Lake, Utah; and De Maria’s The Lightning Field (1977) in Quemado, New Mexico.

Dia currently presents temporary installations, artist lectures, and readings on West 22nd Street in the Chelsea section of New York City, the neighborhood it helped pioneer. Plans for a new project space are underway.

Photo credit: BFANY/Benjamin Lozovsky.