2019 Whitney Biennial: The Museum as a Site of Protest
THE ROOTS OF THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL date to 1932. Originally an annual event, the exhibition was established as a biennial in 1973. Through the decades, organizers of the group show have sought to reflect the state of contemporary art and tap the pulse of what’s going on outside the museum’s galleries. As a result,...
Celebrating DC Pride, Brendan Fernandes Turns Smithsonian Atrium Into a Space for Dance, Resistance, and Resiliance
THE LIGHT-FILLED ATRIUM at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) was transformed into a dance floor on Sunday. Artist and choreographer Brendan Fernandes staged “Free Fall 49” (2017), a piece he developed in response to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla. On June 12, 2016, a lone gunman killed 49 people and wounded...
Artist List for 2019 Whitney Biennial Includes Wangechi Mutu, Simone Leigh, Brendan Fernandes, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Jennifer Packer, and Martine Syms
From left, Artists Brendan Fernandes, Simone Leigh, and Todd Gray THE ARTIST LIST for the 2019 Whitney Biennial was released Monday afternoon. The group includes 75 artists, a diverse group in terms of race, gender, experience, and discipline. Prominent names include Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, Nicole Eisenman, Jeffrey Gibson, and Forensic Architecture, the UK...
