Dan Flavin Art Institute

The Dan Flavin Art Institute houses a permanent exhibition by Dan Flavin (1933-1996). The building was designed by Dan Flavin, which formerly housed a firehouse and Baptist church. Part of Dia Art Foundation, the Dan Flavin Art Institute presents temporary and permanent exhibitions. On permanent view are nine fluorescent light works by Flavin, made between 1963 and 1981. Temporary exhibitions have presented solo shows by John Chamberlain, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Alice Neel, Louise Bourgeois, Cy Twombly and others.

Originally built as a firehouse in 1908, the building operated as a church from 1924 to the mid-1970s, and was renovated under the direction of the artist to evoke the building’s former uses: a newel post in the entrance hall is painted red in memory of the building’s years as a firehouse, and the original church doors have been moved to the entrance of a small exhibition space on the second floor that contains memorabilia, including a neon cross, collected from and about the church.