Raul de Nieves, via Art Observed

It’s been a long time coming for this year’s Whitney Biennial, an exhibition that has sat on pause for several years as the institution prepared for its move downtown, and got comfortable in its new space in the Meatpacking District.  Opening its first Biennial since 2014, the stage has been set for a particularly timely moment of reflection on both America and its art communities at a time when the national identity has rarely been so fiercely contested and examined.

Ajay Kurian, Childermass (2017), via Art Observed

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The Whitney has announced that it has selected three curators for its 2014 Biennial. Stuart Comer, Anthony Elms, and Michelle Grabner will “represent a range of geographic vantages and curatorial methodologies”. Whitney curators Elisabeth Sussman and Jay Sanders, curators of the 2012 Biennial, will act as advisors in the 2014 project. (more…)

Vincent Gallo, against releasing his film, “Promises Written in Water,” leaves the Whitney Biennial without response.

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All photos on site for Art Observed by Elene Damenia.

Charles Atlas’ pioneering work in film has evolved since the early 1970s to today, ever re-defining his medium and the field. As Artist in Residence for the 2012 Whitney Biennial from April 18–22, Atlas showcased his recent exploration of live performance, as well as screening Ocean April 11–15, his full-length film of the legendary Merce Cunningham‘s performance at the Rainbow Granite Quarry in Minnesota in 2008. As Filmmaker-in-residence for Cunningham from 1974–83, Atlas explored the technical possibilities of capturing dance on film, conflating time, scale, and angles to create a multi-dimensional viewing experience for a genre whose single viewpoint documentation often drains the piece of its power and effect. Atlas is the self-proclaimed inventor of ‘mediadance,’ a genre of performance conceived exclusively for video broadcast, demonstrative of his active engagement with performers. Known for his collaborative work with performance artists such as Marina Abromovic, Leigh Bowery, Michael Clark, Douglas Dunn, Yvonne Rainer, Mika Tajima and New Humans, Atlas states, “the essence of my work resides ultimately in the relationships that develop with my subjects and my collaborators.”

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Gearing up for a performance piece on the fourth floor.  All images for Art Observed by Anna Mikaela Ekstrand.

The festive albeit politically charged atmosphere at the 2012 76th annual Whitney Biennial‘s pre-show event was practically interdependent, with the political climate not only informing the sentiments of viewers, but arguably the art itself. While protesters outside encouraged entering guests to “Occupy the Whitney,” antagonizing Sotheby’s and Deutsche Bank for withholding benefits from workers and developing financial strategies to benefit the ‘one percent,’ art indoors at the biennial also challenged artistic convention against the same political scale, with over 50 artists showing work.

Chuck Close touring the second floor

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‪‬Whitney Biennial pranked by Occupy Wall Street Arts & Labor group with demand to end by 2014, and mock email press release and website launched this morning announcing false break with corporate sponsors Sotheby’s and Deutsche Bank [AO Newslink]

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Jeff Koons, Ushering in Banality, 1988. Polychromed wood. All photos by Christian Saltas, unless otherwise noted.

The Foundation of Arts for a Contemporary Europe (FACE) is a collaboration between five non-profit art foundations: the Deste Foundation in Athens, Greece; the Ellipse Foundation in Cascais, Portugal; the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy; La Maison Rouge in Paris, France; and Magasin 3 Konsthall in Stockholm, Sweden. Established in 2008, the FACE alliance is dedicated to the promotion of emerging international artists by supporting the production and exhibition of new works. Their first initiative takes the form of a traveling exhibition entitled “Investigations of a Dog.”

Bruce Nauman, Untitled (Suspended Chair, Vertical III), 1987.

The exhibition draws its title from a 1922 short story by Franz Kafka, and the selection of works take up the existentialist themes present in Kafka’s work: disillusionment, humanity, and marginalization. Among participating artists are: Maurizio Cattelan, Roberto Cuoghi, Mark Dion, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Urs Fischer, Fischli & Weiss, Claire Fontaine, David Hammons, Thomas Hirschhorn, William Kentridge, Kimsooja, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine, Mark Manders, Paul McCarthy, Bruce Nauman, Martin Parr, Aurel Schmidt, Santiago Sierra, Lorna Simpson, and Kara Walker.

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