Past Exhibition

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

May 14 – September 3, 2018

Past Exhibition

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

May 14 – September 3, 2018

In Diana Al-Hadid’s Delirious Matter, six female figures — the freestanding 14-feet high walls titled The Grotto and Gradiva; a conical work, Citadel; and three figures called Synonym — commune as they face the central Oval Lawn and form a kinship of women throughout the history of art and on site in the park. Their synergy and the artist’s observation of the unexpected prompt the framework of Delirious Matter. The organic plan of park walkways, distinctly opposed to the geometric grid of Manhattan streets, confirms Al-Hadid’s idea of delirium, or a restless excitement that grips individuals. While these works resemble eroded sculpture or historic ruin, the artist’s process is additive: she builds up layers of material, here polymer gypsum and fiberglass.

Al-Hadid’s influences come from architecture, antiquity, cosmology, and Old Master paintings. She finds inspiration in diverse sources, such as ancient frescoes, Northern Renaissance art, Islamic miniatures, ancient time-telling devices, and the modern sculpture of Italian artist Medardo Rosso. Al-Hadid shares that she “was educated by modernist instructors in the Midwest, but also raised in an Islamic household with a culture that very much prizes narrative and folklore.” These references reflect her perspective as an immigrant from Syria who moved to Ohio when she was a child and form the core of her work.

About the artist

Diana Al-Hadid (American, b.1981) was born in Aleppo, Syria and lives and works in Brooklyn. She earned a BFA and BA from Kent State University (2003), and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (2005).

Al-Hadid studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2007). She has been United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow (2009) and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow (2009). Her awards include Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2007) and Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant (2009). Al-Hadid’s works are included in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist
About the artist

Diana Al-Hadid (American, b.1981) was born in Aleppo, Syria and lives and works in Brooklyn. She earned a BFA and BA from Kent State University (2003), and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (2005).

Al-Hadid studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2007). She has been United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow (2009) and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow (2009). Her awards include Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2007) and Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant (2009). Al-Hadid’s works are included in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist

About the artist

Diana Al-Hadid (American, b.1981) was born in Aleppo, Syria and lives and works in Brooklyn. She earned a BFA and BA from Kent State University (2003), and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (2005).

Al-Hadid studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2007). She has been United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow (2009) and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow (2009). Her awards include Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2007) and Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant (2009). Al-Hadid’s works are included in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist
Exhibition Catalogue

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

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Press Release

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About the artist

Diana Al-Hadid (American, b.1981) was born in Aleppo, Syria and lives and works in Brooklyn. She earned a BFA and BA from Kent State University (2003), and an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (2005).

Al-Hadid studied at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2007). She has been United States Artists Rockefeller Fellow (2009) and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow (2009). Her awards include Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2007) and Louis Comfort Tiffany Grant (2009). Al-Hadid’s works are included in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Read more about the artist

Image gallery

Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography
Photo: Moorehart Photography

Exhibition Support

Delirious Matter is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Substantial exhibition support for Delirious Matter is provided by Marianne Boesky Gallery, Stacey Goergen, and Showman Fabricators.

Major support for the art program is provided by Charina Endowment Fund, Toby Devan Lewis, Pentagram Design, Ronald A. Pizzuti, Sorgente Group of America, Thornton Tomasetti, Tiffany & Co., and Anonymous. Substantial support is provided by George W. Ahl III, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, Irving Harris Foundation, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, Lenore G. Tawney Foundation, The New York EDITION, the Madison Square Park Conservancy Art Council, Danny and Audrey Meyer, The Rudin Family, The Sol LeWitt Fund for Artist Work, and Fern and Lenard Tessler. Ace Hotel New York is the Official Hotel Partner of Madison Square Park Conservancy.

The art program is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The art program is supported in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Madison Square Park Conservancy is a public/private partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter

Exhibition Support

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