DIA (BEACON) Walter de Maria ‘Truck Triology’

Walter De Maria, Truck Trilogy: Black Truck / Triangle, Circle, Square, 2011-2017. © 2017 

Begun in 2011 and completed posthumously, the Truck Trilogy consists of three classic Chevrolet pickup trucks, which have been stripped of all extraneous elements and details. Placed vertically in the trucks’ flatbeds are circular, square, and triangular polished-stainless-steel rods. Similar to De Maria’s Bel Air Trilogy (2000–11), the Truck Trilogy juxtaposes the elegant lines of mid-century American industrial design with the geometric vocabulary that underscores more than fifty years of the artist’s practice. This installation is organized as part of a year of programming in celebration of Walter De Maria’s art, marking the fortieth anniversary of The Lightning Field, The New York Earth Room, and The Vertical Earth Kilometer, each commissioned by Dia and completed in 1977.