Diana al-Hadid
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Aleppo, Syria
Education
Known forsculpture, installation
SpouseJon Lott
Children1
Websitedianaalhadid.com
Fool's Gold, 2014, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, wood, plaster, cement, gold leaf

Diana al-Hadid (born 1981) is a Syrian-born American contemporary artist who creates sculptures, installations, and drawings using various media. She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Early life and education

Al-Hadid was born in Aleppo, Syria.[1][2] When she was five, her family immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio,[2] but she grew up mostly in North Canton, Ohio.[3] She grew up in an Islamic household.[4] Al-Hadid decided at the age of 11 that she wanted to be an artist.[5] She was inspired by family vacations to the middle east, visiting the Jeita Grotto in Lebanon and experiencing Islamic architecture.

In 2003, Al-Hadid received a BA in art history and a BFA in sculpture from Kent State University in Ohio.[3] In 2005, she received an MFA in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.[3] In 2007, she attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture,[6] the same year she had her first solo exhibition.

Work

Al-Hadid makes sculptures from a large variety of materials such as steel, fiberglass, wood, aluminum, bronze, cardboard, expanded polystyrene, reinforced polymer gypsum, and wax.[7][4] She often works large-scale, working up to 4 meters tall, making large dreamlike or ghostly architectural forms out of dripping repetitive forms.

Much of Al-Hadid's sculpture is inspired by architecture, Surrealism, and painting. Al-Hadid notes architectural influences such as: the Sagrada Familia, a house built by Salvador Dali, the architectural theorist Christian Norberg-Schulz, as well as the intricacy and ornamentation found in Islamic and Gothic architecture.[8] Painting influences for Al-Hadid include northern Renaissance painting, Mannerist painting, Pieter Bruegel, Cy Twombly, and the presence of floating figures. Figures have shown up in her later work; she notes: "Islamic belief forbids figuration, and it's something I want to address."[4]

Many of Al-Hadid's sculptures have narrative or mythological references, such as Scheherzade, Ariadne, and Gradiva from Wilhelm Jensen's 1903 novella of the same name, who was also celebrated by the Surrealists.[2][4] Al-Hadid states: "I was raised [...] in a culture that very much prizes storytelling and the oral tradition. My work is partially inspired by myths and folklore from both Western and Arabic cultures."[4]

Al-Hadid cites Judy Pfaff and David Altmejd as sculptural inspirations.[8]

In 2018, Al-Hadid had her first public art installation, entitled Delirious Matter, in Madison Square Park. The installation featured four sculptures placed around the park made of polymer gypsum and fiberglass.[9][10][11] Delirious Matter was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.[9]

In 2019, Al-Hadid was commissioned by MTA Arts & Design to create a permanent installation of two murals in the mezzanine spaces at the 34th Street.[12] The two murals, entitled The Arches of Old Penn Station and The Arc of Gradiva, were recognized by the CODAawards.[13]

Other activities

Collections and Awards

In 2009, she was a USA Rockefeller Fellow and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.[15][16] In 2007 she won a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, in 2011 she won a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant. In 2020, she received The Academy of Arts and Letters Art Award.[17]

Collections holding her work include the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park,[18] Whitney Museum of American Art,[19] and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,[20] Al-Hadid has shown work at the Secession in Vienna, Austria;[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Diana al-Hadid". Art 21 | New York Close Up.
  2. 1 2 3 Jungerberg, Tom; Smith, Anna; Borsh, Colleen (November 2012). "Diana Al-Hadid: Identity and Heritage". Art Education. 65 (6): 25–32. doi:10.1080/00043125.2012.11519197. ISSN 0004-3125. S2CID 191876418.
  3. 1 2 3 Litt, Steven (27 November 2013). "The Akron Art Museum salutes Diana Al-Hadid, a Kent State grad in search of art world success - on her own terms". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Reisenfeld, Robin. “The Labyrinth in the Tower: A Conversation with Diana Al-Hadid.” Sculpture 28, no. 2 (April 2009): 24–31.
  5. ↑ Cashdan, Marina (September 2014). "Austria Bound". Surface (111): 60.
  6. ↑ Pollack, Barbara (14 November 2012). "Diana Al-Hadid Makes a Sculpture". ARTnews.
  7. ↑ "Artist: Diana Al-Hadid". Saatchi Gallery. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 Amy, Michael. “Ghosts of Things: A Conversation with Diana Al-Hadid.” SCULPTURE -WASHINGTON-, January 1, 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Diana Al-Hadid: Delirious Matter". Madison Square Park Conservancy. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  10. ↑ Hilburg, Jonathan (16 May 2018). "Diana Al-Hadid's delirious Madison Square Park installations are up for the summer". The Architect’s Newspaper. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Laster, Paul (22 May 2018). "Diana Al-Hadid melds sci-fi and spiritualism at Madison Square Park". Time Out. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Small, Zachary (2019-05-01). "The Arches of Old Penn Station Return in Diana Al-Hadid's Subway Mosaics". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  13. ↑ "The Arches of Old Penn Station; The Arc of Gradiva". CODAworx. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  14. ↑ Maximilíano Durón (March 2019), ICA VCU Adds Adam Pendleton, Adrienne Edwards to Advisory Board Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU.
  15. ↑ Siese, April (18 November 2015). "9 Syrian Americans Who Have Changed The World & Will Help You Rethink The Refugee Crisis". Bustle. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "CV - Diana Al-Hadid". www.dianaalhadid.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  17. ↑ Letters, American Academy of Arts and (2020-03-03). "The American Academy of Arts and Letters Presents the 2020 Invitational Exhibition of Visual Arts". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  18. ↑ "Blind Bust 1". The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  19. ↑ "Diana Al-Hadid". Whitney Museum of American Art. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  20. ↑ "Woven City (Primary Title)". Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  21. ↑ La Forge, Thessaly (10 September 2014). "Artist Diana Al-Hadid on Fate, Form, and Freud—and Her New Exhibition at the Secession in Vienna". Vogue. CondeNast. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.