Diana al-Hadid

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.

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]

• Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU, Member of the Advisory Board[14]

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]