Laddie John Dill

Courtesy of the Artist, George Frederick Mead Merck, and T8 Partners Art Advisory

Laddie John Dill was born in Long Beach, CA in 1943. His step father worked in the aerospace industry and encouraged his interest in technical innovation and the sciences. After graduating from Chouinard Art Institute in 1968 with a BFA, Dill became a printing apprentice at Gemini G.E.L. and worked closely with artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Rauschenberg would become a lifelong friend and mentor and Johns would allow him to live at his loft when Dill was in New York. While working at Gemini, Dill gained notoriety through working with materials such as glass, metal, neon and cement. He was inspired by the work of Peter Alexander whose work he sanded while he was still a student. By the time he was 28, he had his first solo exhibition in New York at Sonnabend Gallery. Working and exhibiting alongside notable artists such as Robert Irwin, Larry Bell, and Mary Corse, Dill became known as a central figure in the Light and Space movement. Dill lives in Los Angeles and maintains a daily studio practice.

Dill has enjoyed solo exhibitions at Sonnabend Gallery (NY); James Corcoran Gallery (CA); Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art (CA): Long Beach Museum of Art (CA): Sun Gallery (Seoul); Di Donato (Naples); Whitestone Gallery (Taipei); Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Naples); and Wiesbaden Gallery (Germany). He has participated in group exhibitions at institutions including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA); Walker Art Center (MN); Pasadena Art Museum (CA); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA); Rose Art Museum (MA); Otis Art Institute (CA); Seattle Art Museum (CA); Albright-Knox Art Gallery (NY); Corcoran Gallery of Art (DC); Museum of Contemporary Art (Sao Paulo); Contemporary Art Museum (TX); Museum of Contemporary Art (CA); Pace Gallery (NY); David Zwirner Gallery (NY); Hammer Museum (CA); and Hauser & Wirth Gallery (CA). Laddie John Dill’s work is in the permanent collections of national and international institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (NY); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA); Museum of Contemporary Art (CA); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (CA); High Museum (GA); Phillips Collection (DC); Chicago Art Institute (IL); Smithsonian (DC); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Denmark); Museum of Contemporary Art - San Diego (CA); and Museo Jumex (Mexico).