Every spring, the Dia Art Foundation’s luncheon at Dia Beacon offers a pause from the art world’s relentless whirl—a chance to slow down, look closely, and raise a glass among friends. This year’s edition, co-hosted by Dia director Jessica Morgan and board chair Nathalie de Gunzburg, carried particular significance: it marked a decade of leadership for both women and celebrated five new artist installations newly on view at the upstate museum. The afternoon also saw the public debut of Bottega Veneta’s new creative director Louise Trotter, who joined the benefit with a table of close friends—a stylish signal of the brand’s continued support for Dia.
Guests arrived throughout the morning and strolled Dia’s cavernous galleries, visiting newly opened exhibitions by Renée Green, Roni Horn, Cameron Rowland, Lucas Samaras, and Keith Sonnier. Alongside these fresh installations, attendees lingered with old favorites—Andy Warhol’s serial silkscreens, Richard Serra’s steel corridors, Louise Bourgeois’s visceral forms. Newer commissions, including Steve McQueen’s subterranean environment and work by Meg Webster and Senga Nengudi, offered further meditative moments.
A seated lunch, held in the luminous Felix Gonzalez-Torres gallery, brought together a vibrant mix of artists, gallerists, collectors, and friends of the institution. Guests dined family-style on an elegant menu by chef Olivia Cheng—a meal so universally adored that even the French contingent, including François-Louis Pinault and Bernard Picasso, made a point to praise it.
In her welcoming remarks, de Gunzburg acknowledged the milestone moment. Later, Morgan delivered heartfelt words of thanks to the artists and guests, speaking extemporaneously about Dia’s expanding reach. Current exhibitions stretch from Beacon to Mumbai, where Light into Space remains on view at the Ambani Art Centre in a collaboration with Dia trustee Isha Ambani. Future projects are underway in Paris, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Seoul, and Taipei.
Closer to home, Morgan noted an exciting July debut: a site-specific landscape project by Sara Zewde, the designer and urbanist whose visionary work will soon transform Dia’s exterior—a development Vogue readers will be hearing more about.
As the afternoon light filtered through the Hudson Valley sky, guests lingered over dessert and conversation. The atmosphere was one of reflection and renewal—of looking back at what has been built, and forward to what’s to come.
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