Behind the Scenes with Sal Aguilera and JP Pacquing, Gallery Attendants, Dia Beacon

In this Dia Art Foundation staff interview, two of Dia Beacon’s gallery attendants, Sal Aguilera and JP Pacquing, share an inside look at what it’s like to work in the galleries of Dia Beacon. 

Sal Aguilera, on his first visit to Dia Beacon, in Bruce Nauman’s Corridor Installation (Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, California), 1970. Photo: Sal Aguilera

How long have you been a gallery attendant with Dia? 

SA: For about two years now.

JP: I have been a gallery attendant with Dia for seven years starting in January 2014. 

Tokyo subway. Photo: JP Pacquing

What spurred your interest in the job? 

SA: I first visited Dia Beacon in the winter of 2018 and knew immediately that I wanted to work there. I felt like I’d stumbled onto something mythical and foreign—a collection of such iconic and inspirational artists in this expansive, meditative space. At the time I’d been working in museums in New York for a few years, so it felt like a natural step.

JP: Prior to working at Dia, I volunteered as a gallery attendant at Fovea Exhibitions, a small photography gallery in Beacon. I thought that the skillset that I developed while at Fovea would translate well to a larger art venue such as Dia Beacon, so I applied for the position and fortunately was hired. 

What is your favorite part of the job?  

SA: Other than spending time with the art, my favorite part of the job is probably people watching. There’s a great sense of connection and familiarity that comes from watching people interact with art. You see trends and patterns in people’s behavior: the close observers, the photographers, the playful, the confused, etc. Occasionally you can see people really fall in love with an artwork, in a complete sense of awe. That’s the most rewarding to me.

JP: After all these years of working as a gallery attendant, my interest and enthusiasm is constantly being renewed by new exhibitions and installations from a wide range of artists in Dia’s collection. 

Detail of Sal Aguilera’s embroidery. Photo: Sal Aguilera

Do you have a personal artistic practice? If so, can you tell us a bit about it? 

SA: My background is primarily in art history, so I’m more of an observer than a creator, but I do like to dabble in a handful of arts and crafts. My most recent fixation has been with embroidery and textile works. Despite my interest in more conceptual contemporary art, I like to keep my own work fairly legible and archetypical in imagery and approach. I’m primarily interested in the meditative and spiritual qualities of repetitive crafting processes, rather than finished products.

JP: Yes, I am both a photographer and a musician. My passion for photography began as a desire to visually document my life while living in Tokyo for a year. After participating in several group shows, I had my first solo photography exhibition in 2019. I work in nature, event, and fashion photography. Music has been a lifelong pursuit. I played classical violin at an early age and then transitioned to playing electric guitar as a teenager: from Bach and Beethoven to Hendrix and Zeppelin. I have continued playing guitar into adulthood, and my interests have shifted from rock to blues. 

JP Pacquing in front of his photography. Photo: JP Pacquing

Which is your current favorite gallery to spend time in? 

SA: This is a hard one, but I have to say the John Chamberlain gallery. Each one of his pieces has such a colossal presence and personality. The more time that you spend with the work, the more the sensuality, movement, and humor of his process reveals itself. My favorite example of this is Daddy in the Dark (1988). Since the installation of Carl Craig’s Party/After-Party (2020) in the basement, Chamberlain’s work has taken on an audible inner vibration, like a dance or a heartbeat. This industrial “waste” being reanimated in such a way feels like the perfect mirror to working in an institution and area so deeply entrenched in a beautiful working-class history.

JP: Party/After-Party (2020) by Carl Craig. The basement of Dia Beacon, which is very reminiscent of warehouse parties, is the perfect space to exhibit a techno-inspired sound installation. Like both of my personal artistic practices, this gallery engages the auditory as well as visual senses. 

Detail of a John Chamberlain work during a summer sunset. Photo: Sal Aguilera

One part of the role is being available to visitors as a source of knowledge for the various exhibitions. Is there an exhibition that has especially stuck with you?  

SA: Bruce Nauman’s work, especially Left or Standing, Standing or Left Standing (1971) and Corridor Installation (Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, California) (1970). Both of these works were so funny, confrontational, and transporting. I love the sense of participation, confusion, and intrigue that they cause.

JP: Richard Serra’s Torqued Ellipses. When I am stationed in the Serra gallery and walk through each of the four Ellipses, I am always amazed by the art’s mass and sounds that one can create within those sculptures. Visitors often ask logistical questions. They are impressed by how these structures were made and brought into the mezzanine of Dia Beacon. 

Sal Aguilera’s favorite “unofficial” Dia artwork. Photo: Sal Aguilera

Can you share one particularly memorable experience that you’ve had while working? 

SA: A memory that sticks out to me nowadays is the opening of Carl Craig’s Party/After-Party in March of last year. Craig and Moritz von Oswald played a set to a crowded basement of fans and art enthusiasts. It was lovely to watch Dia transform into a site of such pure communal joy. It was especially impactful in the basement-level space, which is one of the most well-conserved (factory-worker graffiti and all) testaments to the building’s industrial history.  This was just weeks before the shutdowns due to COVID-19 occurred, so it leaves me with fond memories and optimistic projections for the future.

JP: A visitor was wearing an “I Heart Techno” shirt so I approached him and asked, “Have you been to the basement, yet?” He said that he had just arrived at the museum with his girlfriend, so I recommended that they check out Carl Craig’s sound installation. When I saw them again, coming up the basement stairs, I asked, “What did you think?” He responded, “So cool!! We were in there for a long time. Thank you for the recommendation.” That was the highlight of my day.