Organized by Dia Artwork Basis and The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), ‘Gentle into House’ brings collectively key works by among the most important artists of the Sixties and ’70s, together with Dan Flavin, Nancy Holt, Robert Irwin and Mary Corse. Staged throughout 4 flooring of the Artwork Home at NMACC in Mumbai, the exhibition marks the primary time that the US-based establishment has proven its assortment in India. Right here, Dia director Jessica Morgan discusses the challenges – each sensible and ecological – of sending fragile, large-scale sculptures to Mumbai, and what she realized about these iconic artworks by seeing them in a brand new setting.
Chloe Stead What was the place to begin for the exhibition and Dia’s collaboration with Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre?
Jessica Morgan This exhibition started as a dialog about how we may introduce Dia’s assortment and curatorial ethos to new audiences exterior the US. Dia has a longstanding dedication to artists whose practices have interaction deeply with house, notion and materiality, and ‘Gentle into House’ felt like a pure extension of that mission. The chance to current these works in Mumbai – the place gentle, structure and the city surroundings work together in such distinct methods – supplied a compelling new lens by means of which to expertise them.
CS What motivated you to convey such an iconic group of Sixties and ’70s artists to India for the primary time?
JM Whereas many of those artists – equivalent to Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin and Mary Corse – are central figures within the historical past of minimalism and post-minimalism within the US, their work has by no means been exhibited in India previous to this present. It’s been extremely rewarding to witness how guests in Mumbai are responding – there’s a curiosity and openness to exploring these works, and we’ve seen an actual engagement with the sensory and spatial qualities of the exhibition. It’s a reminder that these artists’ concepts transcend their unique historic and geographical contexts.
CS Did you and your workforce study something about any of the artists and works from seeing them on this new context?
JM Probably the most thrilling features of presenting ‘Gentle into House’ in Mumbai has been observing how pure and synthetic gentle work together with the works on this setting. Experiencing items like Flavin’s fluorescent installations or Corse’s subtly reflective surfaces on this new surroundings has revealed nuances we hadn’t seen earlier than. The standard of daylight in Mumbai – its depth, the way in which it shifts all through the day – creates a special perceptual expertise, reinforcing how strongly these works rely upon their environment.
Past that, my co-curator Min Solar Jeon and I imagine that the works on this exhibition deeply resonate with each historic and modern environments in India, the place gentle has lengthy held cultural significance. Diwali, with its symbolic and non secular that means, served as a key reference level on this exploration. Likewise, in Mumbai’s modern city panorama, the dynamic interaction of sunshine, folks and structure is especially putting. The overwhelming presence of neon promoting in an more and more commercialized cityscape, together with gentle projections on historic landmarks equivalent to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Gateway of India and the Rajabai Clock Tower, displays the ever-changing nature of the surroundings.
CS What have been among the logistical points or considerations of transport and exhibiting this work in India?
JM Transporting and putting in large-scale, typically fragile works all the time presents challenges, notably when coping with light-based and spatially delicate items. We labored intently with conservation specialists, shippers and NMACC’s unimaginable technical workforce to make sure that every work arrived safely and was put in with precision. Temperature and humidity management have been additionally key issues, given the local weather variations between New York and Mumbai, and we have been thrilled with the state-of-the-art galleries at NMACC and the shut consideration to the care of the works at each step of the way in which.
CS Delivery such a lot of work the world over should include a large carbon footprint. How did you steadiness this actuality with the establishment’s accountability to point out the work of artists out of your assortment to new audiences?
JM That is one thing we’re extremely conscious of at Dia, as sustainability is an important consideration and accountability for any cultural establishment at this time. Whereas the carbon footprint of worldwide exhibitions is a problem, we try to mitigate it by consolidating shipments, reusing crates, utilizing environmentally accountable packing supplies and dealing with shippers who adhere to sustainable practices. For this exhibition at NMACC, most of the site-responsive works have been fabricated onsite, decreasing the variety of works that wanted to be transported.
CS Are you able to see a future wherein Dia would possibly use know-how, equivalent to VR or 3D printing, to showcase the gathering overseas? Is that this a dialog you’re having, or do you suppose ‘dwell’ experiences with the gathering needs to be prioritized over mediated ones?
JM Dia’s ethos has all the time been targeted on fostering direct, unmediated encounters with artwork. That mentioned, we acknowledge that these applied sciences current attention-grabbing prospects for a lot of establishments and artists, and they’re an vital a part of the broader dialog about accessibility within the arts. It will likely be thrilling to see what the long run brings as these applied sciences turn into extra ingrained and superior.
‘Gentle into House’ is on view on the Artwork Home at The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre till 11 Could
Important picture: ‘Gentle into House’, 2025, exhibition view. Courtesy: Dia Artwork Basis
