Artist Richard Dial learned metal-work building patio furniture alongside his father, legendary contemporary artist Thornton Dial, and brothers in Bessemer, Alabama. Last Friday, Richard Dial’s latest exhibition “American Idols” closed at Miami Circle’s Johnson Lowe. A few works from the show remain on view.
Dial’s pieces are part of a story that starts long before art was ever part of the plan.
“We met Mr. Arnett,” Dial said, referring to collector and advocate William Arnett. “That’s when Daddy started making art, and we started making art part-time when we got the chance. That was the beginning of the sculpture chairs.”
Those early Dial family collaborations eventually gave way to the solo sculpture practice Richard Dial has been building for decades.
Two figurative sculptures gave “American Idols” its emotional spine. “American Idol” (2006) depicts a kneeling figure, microphone in one hand, the other arm extended toward the sky. “Gethsemane” (2007) shows another kneeling figure, bearded and hunched, hands clasped. One pleads before an audience. The other kneels before God.
“I was just fascinated with the show American Idol when it first came out. I was fascinated with the crucifixion of Christ. It was an emotional time for me,” Dial said of the works.
A title always comes first. “It’s difficult to work with iron,” he said. “I work around the title to create the image. It’s very important when dealing with iron.”
Dial knows when a piece is finished, even if the logic resists easy explanation. “Basically the piece talks to you,” he said. “And that’s when you realize you reached your limit with that particular sculpture.”
Legacy and growth
Dial still works out of the warehouse where Dial Metal Patterns operated for decades. Thornton Dial kept his studio there, too, until his death in 2016. Father and son, in the same building, making art to the end.
“That’s kinda the way we were raised,” Dial said. “Every move we made, he was behind us in every way. Every move he made, we were behind him. We just always tried to support each other.”
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His work lives in the collections of the High Museum of Art, the American Folk Art Museum, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Souls Grown Deep Foundation. “American Idols” marked his third solo exhibition in three years, following “Everyday Love” at Institute 193 in Lexington, Kentucky, and “Wise Spirit” at March Gallery in New York.
“It’s very meaningful. You know, I never thought that I would reach this scale,” Dial said. “All of a sudden, it’s catching more attention than when I first started. It’s a very important moment for me.”
