The Whitney Biennial is an important exhibition of American artists that both surveys and defines trends in contemporary art.
Whitney Biennial 2017 looks at the self and society
The Whitney Biennial 2017 is March 17 – June 11, 2017 at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Greenwich Village’s Meatpacking District.
This is the 78th of the Whitney’s Annuals and Biennials since 1932. This Biennial is curated by the Whitney’s Associate Curator Christopher Y. Lew and independent curator Mia Locks. Both curators were previously associated with MoMA PS1.
They chose sixty-three artists to represent this moment in American art. In these changing times for our country and the world around us, the curators chose to explore the theme of the formation of self and the individual’s place in a turbulent society. As usual, artists are ahead of the general population. Nobody predicted the emergence of a self-centered American leadership and the turbulence it has quickly created at home and abroad.
The work includes painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, film and video, photography, activism, performance, music, and video game design.
This is the first Biennial in the Whitney’s new Meatpacking District home. It was delayed a year by the museum’s transition. It is the largest Biennial ever in terms of gallery space.
Latin Artists at the Biennial
The Whitney didn’t used to be a place where you would expect to find Latin art. But the change in American demographics is changing the art landscape as well.
This Biennial includes Mexican-American and Puerto Rican artists.
Rafa Esparza was born in Los Angeles, California in 1981. He continues to live and work there.
Raúl de Nieves was born in Morelia, Mexico in 1983. He lives and works in Brooklyn.
Aliza Nisenbaum was born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1977. She lives and works in New York City.
Chemi Rosado-Seijo was born in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico in 1973. She lives and works in San Juan and Naranjito, Puerto Rico.
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1972. She continues to live and work there.
One more thing. The 2017 Biennal catalog is designed by Olga Sasellas Badillo of Tiguere Corp in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
You have to give the Whitney administration credit for the inclusiveness of its vision.
The image is Raúl de Nieves, Somos Monstros, 2016. Cloth patches, fabric, and mannequin, 79 × 26 1/2 × 18 1/2 in. (200.7 × 67.3 × 47 cm). Courtesy the artist and Company Gallery, New York.
For more information, visit www.Whitney.org.