This new commission by Rita McBride, titled Particulates (2017), is inspired by time travel, the principles of light and space, and quantum physics. The materials of McBride’s Particulates include water molecules, surfactant compounds, and the beams of high-intensity lasers. Her use of light as a sculptural medium marks a departure for the artist who has explored the tension between architectural and sculptural form in her extensive oeuvre since the mid-1980s. Particulates exchanges gravity, a core element in sculpture, for the potential of infinitely traversable space. It unfolds a wrinkle in time.

Particulates is made possible by major support from Brenda R. Potter. Significant support is provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Dia’s Director’s Council: Fady Jameel, Leslie and Mac McQuown, Hope Warschaw, and Sara and Evan Williams. Generous support is provided by Frances Bowes, Nathalie and Charles de Gunzburg, and Marissa Sackler. Additional support is provided by Karyn Kohl and Light Art Space.

Rita McBride was born in Des Moines in 1960. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles and Düsseldorf.

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