Purple Art
[August 7 2014]
A trip to the Dia:Beacon, New York
There is something soulfully rewarding about viewing modern art out of an urban context. Whether sculptures built into the hills of Japan’s Naoshima or Jeff Koons invading Versailles, viewing the austerity of modern art in an unexpected setting somehow just works in a fancy tickling sense. Artist communities and moves upstate are becoming increasingly common as Manhattan and Brooklyn realty continue to boom, and with the picturesque surrounds, it’s not hard to gauge why. Set in the rolling tranquility of the Dutchess County, Beacon is a former mill town and now art haven. Passing by the Hudson en route up, it’s an unforgettable journey. Presently on show, Carl Andre’s show at DIA is like a giant game of Tetris that mirrors the geometry of the incredible former Nabisco box-factory perfectly. Text and Photo Kate Atkinson
