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Writer's pictureMonica Blignaut

Diana Al-Hadid

Artist 318

Diana Al-Hadid

Sculpture

impossible architecture


Artist Diana Al-Hadid
Artist Diana Al-Hadid

Diana Al-Hadid (born 1981) is a Syrian-American artist who lives and works in New York. She is known for her sculptures.


Diana Al-Hadid, Self Melt, 2008
Diana Al-Hadid Self Melt 2008 Polymer gypsum, steel, polystyrene, cardboard, wax and paint 147.3 x 142.3 x 190.5 cm

Diana Al-Hadid was born in Aleppo, Syria. She was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and currently lives and works in New York. Al-Hadid’s large-scale sculptures and wall hangings are the outcome of process-based investigations into materials, including fiberglass, polymer, steel, and plaster.

Diana Al-Hadid, Gradiva’s Fourth Wall, 2011
Diana Al-Hadid, Gradiva’s Fourth Wall 2011. Steel, polymer gypsum, wood, fiberglass, paint; 183.5 × 190.75 × 132 inches.

She is known to span across media and scale, and examines the historical frameworks and perspectives that shape our material and cultural assumptions.


Al- Hadid’s sculptures, panel works, and works on paper are built up with layers of material and history. Her rich, formal allusions cross cultures and disciplines, drawing inspiration, not only from the history of distant civilizations, but also from histories of the materials themselves.

Diana Al-Hadid. Antonym, 2012
Diana Al-Hadid. Antonym, 2012. Steel, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, wood, foam, paint; 68 × 63 × 54 inches.

Al-Hadid’s draws interest in how commonly understood typologies and histories can be distinguished. As such her large-scale sculptures blend figurative and architectural elements into elusive objects that decontextualize the historical circumstances they reference.


Diana Al-Hadid  All The Stops, 2007
Diana Al-Hadid All The Stops, 2007 Cardboard, wood, metal, plastic & paint 264.2 x 172.7 x 142.2 cm

Evolving from material studies of her sculptures, Al-Hadid’s three-dimensional wall panels emphasize the artist’s quick gestural brushwork. Described by Al-Hadid as “somewhere between fresco and tapestry,” her unique process is entirely additive.

Diana Al-Hadid, Divided Line, 2012.
Diana Al-Hadid, Divided Line, 2012. Polymer gypsum, fiberglass, gypsum board, plaster, wood, steel, paint; 123 5/8 × 180 5/16 inches.

Her structures cross cultures and disciplines, drawing from not only history but also drawing on the materiality of the process. Her artworks can be considered architectural interventions. Al-Hadid has described her work as "impossible architecture". She utilizes stylistic elements from a variety of architectural periods ranging from medieval churches to futuristic stadiums.

Diana Al-Hadid, Nolli’s Orders, 2012
Diana Al-Hadid, Nolli’s Orders, 2012. Steel, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, wood, foam, paint; 264 × 228 × 122 inches.

The resulting works are fascinating explorations of how we connect and engage with architecture and how the spaces we surround ourselves with are far more than shells but play an emotive role in our visceral experience.


Diana Al-Hadid, In Mortal Repose, 2011
Diana Al-Hadid, In Mortal Repose, 2011. Bronze, cast concrete; 72 × 71 × 63.25 inches

Sources Consulted


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