At Dia Chelsea, Steve McQueen will present a new work alongside a recent two-channel video, Sunshine State (2022), in the adjacent gallery. Sunshine State is displayed on both sides of two large screens, encouraging visitors to move through the space and view it from either vantage point. Opening with footage of a burning sun, the work unfurls clips from the musical drama The Jazz Singer (1927), the first “talkie” in the history of cinema, starring the famous singer Al Jolson. In a voiceover, McQueen recounts a poignant story that his late father relayed on his deathbed about a personal experience of violent racism in Florida, giving the work its title. Originally commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Sunshine State, through its Dia presentation, debuts on the East Coast of the United States, throwing its eponymous connection to Florida into sharp relief.

Steve McQueen is curated by Donna De Salvo, senior adjunct curator, special projects, with Emily Markert, curatorial assistant.

A concurrent presentation of McQueen’s Bass is on view at Dia Beacon, New York, May 12, 2024–May 2025. 

Photos: Don Stahl. Courtesy of Dia Art Foundation. © Steve McQueen