Whitney Biennial

[Wilfrid]

I attend with trepidation, expecting to see plenty of art I won’t like. I thought this edition was okay (despite the fantastic pomposity of the text that introduces you to it).

I especially commend Harmony Hammond (I have seen these works before, but where?) who continues to remind me of Tapies - bold symbols and wonderful textures. 

There are many movies in side rooms; I was gripped by Diane Severin Nguyen’s “In her Time” (young actress painfully playing a role in a movie (within the movie) about the Nanjing massacre). 

And more spectacle than fine art, a big reproduction of the White House (in black) falling over on one of the Whitney’s balconies).

 

 

[bloviatrix]

I finally made it. I really disliked the last edition so I had very low expectations going in and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I adored ektor garcia's crochet work with wire and Suzanne Jackson's use of color and the way her pieces hung reminded me a bit of Sam Gilliam's canvases.

[bloviatrix]

I attended the 2026 edition of the Biennial earlier this week. They exhibited a combination of older works from their holdings - a stunning O'Keefe, Johns, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Hopper, etc. And also contemporary work which I thought was a mixed bag. There was several pieces related to the destruction of last year's Altedena fire. I'm always in awe when someone is able to turn something awful into beauty. As an aside, I attended with a friend from LA so it led to a long discussion about how many people she knows whose homes were destroyed and left with nothing. 

[Wilfrid]

My favorites: Kamrooz Aram, some serene abstracts and a lovely folding screen; Mao Ishikawa, a powerful photographer -- American troops and the local population in Okinawa and images of the American south.

A larger sample of Ishikawa's work is on show at Alison Bradley Projects through June 6. The gallery assistant gave me a poster: