2004 Whitney Biennial opens TODAY
11 March 2004
Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York City
Exhibition and program information: 1 800 WHITNEY and www.whitney.org
Image: Sue de Beer, Still from Hans & Grete, 2002. Courtesy Postmasters Gallery, New York, and Sandroni Rey Gallery, Los Angeles
Reflecting a reinvigoration of contemporary American art at a moment of profound change in our cultural landscape, the 2004 Whitney Biennial opens at the Whitney Museum of American Art on March 11.
Organized by three Whitney curators -Chrissie Iles, curator of film and video; Shamim M. Momin, branch director and curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria; and Debra Singer, associate curator of contemporary art- the Biennial features works by 108 artists and collaborative groups and will remain on view throughout the Whitney in its entirety until May 30, 2004. The show also includes outdoor projects dispersed through Central Park, presented in collaboration with the Public Art Fund.
Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, said, “The Biennial is a great tradition that goes back to the Museum’s earliest roots. This gathering of new and established artists plunges us into the present moment in American contemporary art while simultaneously anticipating the future. Perhaps the Whitney’s defining exhibition, the Biennial is a requisite, periodic report from the front. It’s a means of discovery and of recognition, and a reaffirmation of the Museum’s commitment to American artists and to America’s cultural life. We are deeply grateful to Altria, Banc of America Securities, and The Brown Foundation for helping to make this year’s Biennial possible.”
Scheduled Film, Video, and Performances
The exhibition incorporates an extensive film and video program, comprising hand-processed films, documentaries, performative film presentations, and narrative works by three generations of filmmakers and artists, from Jonas Mekas and Bradley Eros to Liisa Roberts, Andrea Bowers, and James Fotopoulos. The Biennial also features new performances by artists including Marina Abramovic, Antony and the Johnsons, Noemie Lafrance, and Los Super Elegantes.
Collaboration with the Public Art Fund
For the second time, the Whitney Museum is partnering with the Public Art Fund, New York’s leading presenter of artists’ projects, new commissions, installations and exhibitions in public spaces. A selection of Biennial artists’ works is on display in Central Park, as well as within the museum. In collaboration with the Biennial curators, Tom Eccles, Director and Curator of the Public Art Fund, has co-curated this off-site component of the Biennial, which has been organized by the Public Art Fund and includes a number of newly commissioned projects.
Catalogue
The three curators have developed a new format for the Biennial catalogue. The catalogue comprises two elements: the first, a bound book that includes essays by each of the curators, as well as more than a dozen contemporary and historical writings by a range of authors, including historians, critics, and artists such as Susan Buck-Morss, Richard Davenport-Hines, Tim Griffin, Wayne Koestenbaum, Laura Mulvey, Robert Smithson, Anthony Vidler, and a collaborative text by Rachel Greene and Johanna Fateman. The second component of the catalogue features a box filled with projects created by artists participating in the exhibition. The book is available at the Whitney’s bookstore.
The museum is located at 945 Madison Avenue, New York City. Museum hours are: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday.
For information, please call 1-800 WHITNEY or visit www.whitney.org