| Mark Dion | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 New Bedford, Massachusetts |
| Nationality | United States |
| Field | Installation art |
| Training | University of Hartford School of Art |
| Works | Neukom Vivarium, Polar Bear and Toucans (From Amazonas to Svalbard) |
| Awards | Larry Aldrich Foundation Award |
Mark Dion (born 1961) is an American fine artist best known for his use of scientific presentations in his installations. Dion has exhibited his art works internationally including at the Tate Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, and the PBS series art:21.[1] He teaches at Columbia University visual arts department in New York.
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Mark Dion received a BFA (1986) and an honorary doctorate (2003) from the University of Hartford School of Art, Connecticut. Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world. The job of the artist, he says, is to go against the grain of dominant culture, to challenge perception and convention. Appropriating archaeological and other scientific methods of collecting, ordering, and exhibiting objects, Dion creates works that question the distinctions between ‘objective’ (‘rational’) scientific methods and ‘subjective’ (‘irrational’) influences. The artist’s spectacular and often fantastical curiosity cabinets, modeled on Wunderkabinetts of the 16th Century, exalt atypical orderings of objects and specimens. By locating the roots of environmental politics and public policy in the construction of knowledge about nature, Dion questions the authoritative role of the scientific voice in contemporary society. He has received numerous awards, including the ninth annual Larry Aldrich Foundation Award (2001).
Dion has had major exhibitions at the Miami Art Museum, Florida (2006); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2004); Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2003); and Tate Gallery, London (1999). Neukom Vivarium (2006), a permanent outdoor installation and learning lab for the Olympic Sculpture Park, was commissioned by the Seattle Art Museum.
Dion lives and works in New York and Pennsylvania.[2] He is represented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York and In SITU Gallery in Paris.