Whitney Museum's Biennial turns 75

(Collection of the artist)

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City stages its 75th biennial with artwork from 55 artists, displaying a spread of contemporary art that represents the current scope of American art. This exhibition, which has been staged every two years since the Whitney opened in 1932, runs February 25 - May 30.

The number of artists has decreased from 82 in 2008, perhaps reflecting the economic times.

The roster of those participating includes established and emerging artists, from 23 to 75 years old, working in various mediums, such as photography, drawing, sculpture, and video.

Los Angeles artist Martin Kersels creates a sculptural installation in the lobby gallery as a stage for performances by artists, writers, musicians, and choreographers, such as Lorraine O'Grady, who previously worked as a government intelligence analyst and a rock music writer. There will be an installation by Japanese-born Aki Sakamoto, work by photojournalist Nina Berman from the Amsterdam collective NOOR, Dutch artist Edgar Cleijne, Ari Marcopoulos, Piotr Uklanski, and Vietnamese photographer Tam Tran based in Memphis.

As a prelude to the Biennial, the Museum's fifth floor is currently devoted to artists whose works were shown in Biennials over the past eight decades and are part of the museum's collection. The historical survey, Collecting Biennials, remains on view until November 2010. It includes the following artists' work: Kenneth Anger, Milton Avery, Larry Clark, Bruce Conner, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, Barbara Kruger, Claes Oldenburg, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol.
www.whitney.org

RC