From May 20 through September 12, 1999, The Dan Flavin Art Institute, Bridgehampton, New York, will present "icons, 1961-1963" and "Dan Flavin: Nine Works". Maintained by Dia Center for the Arts, The Dan Flavin Art Institute is located on Corwith Avenue off Main Street. Hours are Thursday through Sunday, 12 noon to 6 pm; suggested contribution $3.

"icons, 1961-1963," a summer-long exhibition, will consist of a series of early works by the artist, his "icons," which combine painted boxes with attached fluorescent and incandescent lights. The pieces are significant, not only as first manifestations of the artist's enduring preoccupation with the aesthetic applications of simple forms and electric light, but as telling precursors to the oeuvre he later developed based on new combinations and arrangements of fixtures and colors.

On permanent view in the second-floor gallery is an installation in fluorescent light by the artist. Consisting of nine works from the years 1971-1981, this installation was planned and completed in 1983 by Flavin for the Bridgehampton space. It has since been maintained by Dia Center for the Arts for public viewing each summer.

In addition to maintaining the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton, Dia has supported Flavin's work in other ways since 1974. The institution has commissioned site-specific installations in Marfa, Texas; Grand Central Station, New York City; and, most recently in 1996, the staircases of Dia's main exhibition facility at 548 West 22nd Street, New York City. Dia's collection also includes almost 50 works by this renowned American artist.

Dan Flavin was born in 1933 in New York City, where he later studied art history at the New School for Social Research. From 1963, he exhibited nationally and internationally. He lived and worked for most of the last 20 years of his life in Bridgehampton and Wainscott. Flavin died on November 29, 1996.

Dia Center for the Arts is a tax-exempt charitable organization. Established in 1974, the organization has become one of the largest in the United States dedicated to contemporary art and contemporary culture. In fulfilling this commitment, Dia sustains diverse programming in visual arts, poetry, education, and critical discourse and debate.