After not having a full weekend for several months – or seeing any art in-person – I decided to treat myself on Sunday to a trip that has long been on my to-do list—The Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton. This weekend was a good time to venture out to Long Island, just before beach season kicks off flooding the area with well-heeled beachgoers.
The Dan Flavin Art Institute opened in June 1983 after Flavin (1933-1996), who lived nearby on the East End of Long Island, took over the quaint shingle style house to install a permanent exhibition of his work. The building served as a firehouse for the town's volunteer fire department from 1908 to 1923, then as the First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton from 1923 to 1979. Dia purchased the building to exhibit a selection of Flavin's signature fluorescent light artwork. Flavin worked closely with the design team to restore the building while preserving its history. A small room on the second floor displays artifacts from the First Baptist Church including photos, a bible, a stained glass window, and a neon cross.
Nine sculptures in fluorescent light (1963-81) is a must-see for Flavin fanatics. Displayed on the second floor, the pieces were picked and arranged by the artist himself within "walls set at 90-degree angles," according to the exhibit notes. "At each end of this structure are four works that explore the possibilities of colored light in relation to corners with increasing degrees of complexity." The colors of each work – pink, yellow, green, blue and red – illuminate the stark white walls behind them, but also interplay with one another from above and around corners.
In the center of the structure showcasing the works, two pieces feature back-to-back rows of light. In untitled (to Robert, Joe and Michael), 1975-81, horizontal rows of long pink bulbs are lined up against rows of yellow bulbs on the opposite side. The pink appears to transform into a vivid fuchsia when viewed on the yellow side, and the yellow becomes greenish when viewed from the pink side.
In untitled (in honor of Harold Joachim) 3, 1977, six horizontal rows of bulbs—three pink and three yellow—face the viewer while six vertical rows—three blue and three green—are arranged behind them facing the corner. The colors soon appear to vibrate and intensify the longer you look at the grid. It's easy to get lost in these spellbinding works, circling the gallery to look at each over and over again. If you plan on heading to the Hamptons this summer, be sure to visit The Dan Flavin Art Institute at Dia: Bridgehampton.
The lower level of the building hosts rotating exhibitions. Currently on view is a site-specific installation by Maren Hassinger. The Window features photos from her 1991 outdoor exhibit Circle of Bushes printed onto ethereal chiffon panels that hang in the gallery. Looking out of the gallery's window, viewers will see two of Hassinger's new bush sculptures, large complex tangles of galvanized steel rope mimicking the surrounding trees on the grounds. Maren Hassinger is on view until May 1, 2022.
Dia: Bridgehampton
The Dan Flavin Art Institute
23 Corwith Avenue, Bridgehampton, New York
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