NEW YORK, NY.- Tracing the full evolution over five decades of the thinking of Carl Andre, a crucial figure in the redefinition of contemporary sculpture, Dia Art Foundation presents Carl Andre: Sculpture as Place, 1958–2010 from May 5, 2014, through March 2, 2015, at Dia:Beacon. The retrospective includes approximately 50 sculptures displayed in Dia:Beacon’s main galleries; over 200 poems and works on paper presented in wooden vitrines designed by the artist; a selection of rarely exhibited assemblages known as Dada Forgeries; and an unprecedented selection of photographs and ephemera. This is the first survey of Carl Andre’s entire oeuvre by a museum, and the first retrospective in North America since 1978-80.

After premiering at Dia:Beacon, the retrospective’s only venue in the United States, it will travel to museums in Europe, including Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (May 7–October 12, 2015); Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin (May 7–September 25, 2016); and Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris (October 20, 2016–February 12, 2017).

The retrospective represents all major historical and aesthetic shifts in Andre’s considerable oeuvre, including the artist’s signature works made out of unaltered building and industrial materials such as brick stacks, metal squares, slabs, and timber blocks. One of Andre’s landmark ephemeral works has been refabricated and installed on the grounds of Dia:Beacon for the duration of the retrospective, and an unparalleled display of Andre’s poems and typewriter works examines the pivotal role of language in his practice. Highlighting the richness of the artist’s work—from his early exercises to his latest productions—the presentation at Dia:Beacon also offers an opportunity to examine concerns shared by Andre’s work and artists in Dia’s collection, such as Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Robert Smithson, and Richard Serra.

“Carl Andre’s work not only challenges traditional notions of technique, composition, and placement. It also redefines the role of the spectators, and their experience as part of the art work,” stated Philippe Vergne, Director, Dia Art Foundation. “Andre summarized his drastic evolution in the late 1960s as a passage from sculpture as form to sculpture as structure to sculpture as place, a motto that he revisited and reformulated numerous times throughout his career. The title of Dia’s retrospective is an acknowledgement of the impact that Andre’s statement still has in contemporary art history. By presenting such a rich overview of his work as a sculptor and poet, the retrospective provides a chance to assess the critical and radical influence Andre had in the development of key notions such as site specificity or post-studio art.”

“The simplicity of Carl Andre’s work conveys a striking complexity; it naturally reveals the multiple ‘conditions’ that determine not only the artwork as such, but also the material itself in relation to historical and economic conditions. Andre’s long-lasting impact on contemporary art is often reduced to the realm of sculpture, when in fact his process and methodology are palpable across various disciplines and generations of artists. Working with Carl over the past three years, we’ve had the privilege of experiencing his unique precision, his intense understanding of his vocation, and his courageous attempt to rewrite the status of a work of art,” said Yasmil Raymond, Curator, Dia Art Foundation.

Co-curated by Dia director Philippe Vergne and Dia curator Yasmil Raymond, in close collaboration with the artist, the retrospective brings together works from renowned collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, National Gallery of Canada, Dallas Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Tate, Addison Gallery of American Art, and Wexner Center for the Arts.

Dia presents both historical and recent sculptures by the artist. The earliest stages of his production have been emphasized by the presence of seminal series and exercises, while the main stages of Andre’s mature oeuvre have been represented by a large selection of metal, wood, and brick works. In addition, Andre’s crucial contribution to the inception of earthworks has highlighted by Joint (1968), an ephemeral hay sculpture that has been refabricated for this important occasion.

Andre’s poems, presented in neighboring galleries, provide a strikingly intimate perspective on his visionary approach to concrete poetry. These typewritten sheets, which include early notes and studies, progressively cohere into a highly systematic style, comprising found language and historical references, patterned combinations of everyday speech and lexicon, obscure epigrams, and abstract, geometric typewriter drawings. This vast survey of Andre’s poems, the largest to date, are presented in two consecutive cycles during the retrospective at Dia:Beacon.