Gerhard Richter at Dia: Beacon

First, a little about Dia: Beacon - opened in 2003, Dia: Beacon houses some of the most important works of art by conceptual and minimalist artists of the 60's and 70's. Unlike many traditional museums, Dia created its exhibition spaces, the Riggio Galleries, with particular artists in mind, giving them a large say in the display of their work when possible. Also, each gallery is devoted to a single artist which greatly enhances the experience of work. I think of Dia: Beacon as a Utopia for artists; they are totally committed fulfilling the artist's wishes and they are prepared to fund large scale and unconventional projects.

Gerhard Richter's installation at Dia, entitled Six Gray Mirrors, consists of 6 immense gray mirrors that are mounted to the walls of the gallery with steel supports, each angled downward slightly. This piece, like much of the work in Dia: Beacon appears to be an articulation of the act of looking. While the mirrors reflect the viewer and the surrounding architecture they also have a deadening effect due to their gray color. There is no infinite reflection as one would normally expect; rather, the mirrors more closely resemble large scale photographs or monochromatic painting. The gray has an odd deadening effect in that everything it does reflect seems to be embedded in its surface in a way that is very different from a traditional mirror. This should not be surprising given Richter's long interest in both the photographic image and monochromatic color palettes. By altering the scale, presentation and color of the mirrors Richter is able to comment on what the mirror is able to accomplish and what it means to look.