In their opening remarks on Tuesday, the\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>2010 Whitney Biennial<\/em><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0curators Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari confessed that they approached the selection process (gasp) open-mindedly, without a preconceived theme. Fortunately, the exhibition itself faithfully reflects their intent, presenting a resonant sampling of contemporary art practice. That is not to say that the show selection is thematically unfocused or ungrounded. To the contrary, much of the work manifests a rediscovered attention to physicality in various ways: in its preoccupation with human vulnerability, in its juxtaposition of figuration and geometry, or simply in its palpable materiality.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Unlike the\u00c2\u00a0last Biennial,<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0which offered very few canvases, 2010 features paintings around every corner. In line with the broader theme of physicality, the inclusion of so much painting signals the importance of sustained physical engagement and a renewed interest in the lifespan of the art object. Here are images from the eighteen painters (and artists who use related media) included in 2010–an impressive, thoughtfully curated exhibition.<\/em><\/p>\n Note: Excerpts about each artist are pulled from the Whitney’s press materials and link to the full text.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n “Scott Short\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>considers the concepts of authorship and reproduction. He begins by photocopying a blank piece of colored construction paper onto a blank piece of standard copy paper\u00e2\u20ac\u201da method that results in seemingly random black-and-white patterns printed on the copy paper. He then copies that copy, repeating the process multiple times and continuing the random patterning process. Once the artist selects a final permutation, the abstract image is then photographed, formatted as a slide, and projected onto a primed canvas. In the final stage, Short painstakingly recreates this image, taking care to remain true to the particular patterns and shapes generated by the machine.”<\/em><\/p>\n Charles Ray\u00c2\u00a0<\/a>presents a room filled with flower paintings on paper.<\/em><\/p>\n “Jim Lutes<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0integrates representation and abstraction through his use of images and lyrical marks in the same pictorial space.”<\/em><\/p>\n “Suzan Frecon\u00c2\u00a0<\/a><\/em>plans her images carefully, first deciding on the dimensions of the work and the paint colors to be used (often grinding her own pigments to achieve the desired effect). She then figures out the precise imagery in sketches, using geometric formulas as well as her own visual intuition to create related forms in which dissonant features are suspended in balance.”<\/em><\/p>\n “Maureen Gallace<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0finds inspiration in the modest edifices and rural environs of her native New England. She paints intimate landscapes featuring serene, unpeopled houses. Deceptively effortless in their appearance, Gallace\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s paintings take shape through careful observation and decisive omission.”<\/em><\/p>\n “Inspired by the seventeenth-century Spanish still-life tradition,\u00c2\u00a0Lesley Vance<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0carefully arranges and lights objects such as fruits or shells. The artist then photographs these arrangements, and the resulting images serve as the basis for her abstract paintings.”<\/em><\/p>\n Linda Yablonsky’s review<\/a> in the New York Times, Women’s Fashion magazine offers a focus on women;<\/p>\n Hardly a Tweet had been sent after the\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>Whitney Museum of American Art<\/em><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0released the names of the 55 artists selected for its 75th biennial before it was already known as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s biennial.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crazy,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Francesco Bonami, the chief curator of the exhibition, now on view through the end of May. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153To be the women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s biennial, 55 of the artists would have to be female.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n Nonetheless, more than half the artists represented are women, a record for the Whitney\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s marquee exhibition. Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari, his associate curator, say the number was happenstance. They intend their survey, titled simply \u00e2\u20ac\u01532010,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d only to reflect the tenor of American art right now, which they see as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153somber and intimate.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Not feminine.<\/em><\/p>\n If anything, \u00e2\u20ac\u01532010\u00e2\u20ac\u009d suggests that the art of the moment has achieved gender equality, even if the market for it has not. But inequality is not the issue here. Whereas the wisecracking feminist protest group the Guerrilla Girls once listed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153working without the pressures of success\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153having the opportunity to choose between career and motherhood\u00e2\u20ac\u009d among the perks for women artists, most of those in the biennial seem blas\u00c3\u00a9 about their place in the social order and entitled to the occasional appearance in a fashion spread, where the glamour quotient is highest.<\/em><\/p>\n That would have been anathema in the 1970s and \u00e2\u20ac\u212280s, when a gale force of feminism roared through every corridor of our culture and women made their own bodies a medium for art. In fact, many women selected for \u00e2\u20ac\u01532010\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are simply making art and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe their status as women has anything to do with how far they get with it \u00e2\u20ac\u201d or not.<\/em><\/p>\n They seem preoccupied with the basics: material, color and form. (An animated exchange between some of those present for the photograph seen here moved smoothly from studio practice to lipstick.) Few would make a work today like the one Barbara Kruger did in 1989, when she stated flat out, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your body is a battleground.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n Holland Cotter in his Feb. 25th New York Times\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0article<\/a>, suggests that the Biennal is referencing the economic downturn;\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n Spectacle is out. Much of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in is quiet and hermetic to the point of initially looking blank. The prevailing aesthetic is the art of the tweak, minute variations on conventional forms and historical styles: abstract paintings stitched like quilts, performance pieces channeling the 1960s, and so on.<\/em><\/p>\n In the end it was video along with photography (there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a wonderful, half-hidden Babette Mangolte installation) that made the show tick for me, particularly standout contributions by Sharon Hayes and Kerry Tribe.<\/em><\/p>\n And finally, Hrag’s Hyperallergic blog<\/a> offers the people’s -or the bloggers’-speak on a Whitney press preview. Really nothing to do with the exhibit itself, but with Gallery 303’s policy on photography (none):<\/p>\n A group of unidentified New York art bloggers were spotted at the 2010 Whitney Biennial press preview staging an absurd protest of a painting that was lent to the show by New York\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>303 Gallery<\/em><\/a>. The work, Maureen Gallace, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153August\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (2009), was the unfortunate recipient of the bloggers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wrath but the protesters told me that their action was not directed towards Gallace but her gallery, 303, which continues to maintain a strict anti-photography policy that is despised by many art bloggers.<\/em><\/p>\n Located in Manhattan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chelsea district, 303 represents a long list of artist who are\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00c2\u00a0perhaps inadvertently\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00c2\u00a0contributing to the gallery\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s anti-photo policy through their silence. The artists include Doug Aitken, Laylah Ali, Rodney Graham, Mary Heilmann, Florian Maier-Aichen and others.<\/em><\/p>\n One of the art bloggers was overheard murmuring the words,\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153looks better blurry,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d while another said,\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153that will teach them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d though what the lesson was wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t clear.<\/em><\/p>\n During the seemingly spontaneous event, the group took really bad photos of the art work, sometimes with their cellphones, and told anyone who would listen about 303\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s photo prohibition.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The hooligan bloggers remain at large and assured me that they will continue to stage future actions against 303 until the gallery removes its ridiculous anti-photography policy….<\/em><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153303 should know that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re their worst nightmare,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d one of them howled before disappearing into a crowd of reporters.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I haven’t gotten into the city yet to see the Whitney Biennial and may have to skip it this time. Much time being spent painting my own work and getting house repairs finalized. What I have seen are interesting takes … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.furiousdreams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/5.scottshort_360.jpg\" "\\"5.scottshort_360\\"")
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