DUANE LINKLATER

Linklater subtly scores the circular 12 + 2 structure—of cosmological significance to the artist’s Omaskêko Cree culture and the number of poles required to build a teepee—onto the floor of Dia Chelsea to encompass the two galleries in a set of relations. Central to the installation are seven large sculptures of buffalo in various wallowing positions. Depicting the animal’s gentle and vigorous actions that have, over centuries, shaped and transformed North American ecosystems, the sculptures provoke an embodied understanding of buffalo. Over seven Saturdays from September 13 through October 25, music and dance performances draw on buffalo movements and ideas of transmission and distillation to further enact the most immaterial aspects of the exhibition. Linklater said, “Buffalo wallowing has shaped, marked, and, in turn, regenerated the land from time immemorial. 12 + 2 is the cosmology within which they act.”

Culminating five years of collaboration with Dia, Duane Linklater: 12 + 2 marks the artist’s first large-scale commission in the United States. The exhibition is accompanied by an extended brochure with contributions by the artist, curator Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, filmmaker Tasha Hubbard, choreographer Tanya Lukin Linklater, and poet Layli Long Soldier. Programming includes a lecture by Long Soldier on November 8 and a presentation of Linklater’s film and video work in dialogue with works by other artists in the fall.