The Whitney Museum in New York has revealed the 69 artists and 2 collectives set to participate in this year’s edition of its famed Whitney Biennial, due to open March 20.
The Whitney Biennial has historically been considered a survey of the current American art scene, and is closely watched internationally for bringing attention to young, up-and-coming artists. In recent editions, the show has also been prized for providing an overdue spotlight to under-recognized late and mid-career artists.
Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli curated this year’s edition—the 81st—titled “Even Better than the Real Thing.” Iles is returning for her third Whitney Biennial, after those she organized in 2004 and 2006.
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Whitney Museum materials describe the show as focusing on “ideas of ‘the real’ to acknowledge that, today, society is at an inflection point, in part brought on by artificial intelligence challenging what we consider to be real, as well as critical discussions about identity. Many of the artists presenting works explore the fluidity of identity and form, historical and current land stewardship, and concepts of embodiment, among other urgent throughlines.”
Their biennial has been touted as one of the most sprawling editions staged to date, with an array of artists brought on to help organize the film and performance programs.
Collaborating on the film program are artist Korakrit Arunanondchai, an alum of the 2019 Whitney Biennial; photographer, writer, curator, and filmmaker asinnajaq; Greg de Cuir Jr., cofounder and artistic director of Kinopravda Institute in Belgrade, Serbia; and filmmaker Zackary Drucker, whose documentary The Stroll was released last year.
Taja Cheek, a musician who also works under the moniker L’Rain, has been enlisted to help create the performance program.
The film program has historically run at the Whitney Museum. This year, for the first time, the films are set to be screened online as well.
As compared to the 2022 Whitney Biennial, which featured a number of late and mid-career artists, this edition trends younger, with many artists born in the past 40 years. Though there are some who have achieved late career recognition—painters Suzanne Jackson, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, and Harmony Hammond, for example, as well as conceptual artist Pippa Garner—most participants are early in their careers.
Some artists in the show are favorites on the biennial circuit, like Raqs Media Collective, participating here in the film program, and Isaac Julien, who had a celebrated video installation in last year’s Sharjah Biennial. And there are several artists who appeared in last year’s Venice Biennale, among them Carolyn Lazard, Dora Budor, P. Staff, and Tourmaline. (Lazard is now on their second Whitney Biennial in five years, having also appeared in the 2019 edition.)
This biennial appears to reflect the shifting demographics of what’s contained within museum walls these days. Just 13 of the artists use he/him pronouns, while 15 use they/them pronouns. And a majority of the artists included are not white. (There are notably fewer Latinx participants than in past years, however, and unlike any other edition held in the past decade, there are no artists from Puerto Rico.)
The artist list follows below.
| Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio (he/him) Born 1990 in Los Angeles, CA Lives in Los Angeles, CA Dora Budor (she/her) Born 1984 in Zagreb, Croatia Lives in New York, NY Seba Calfuqueo (she/her/they/them) Born 1991 in Santiago, Chile Lives in Ngulumapu, Wallmapu (Chile) Demian DinéYazhi’ (they/them) Born 1983 in Gallup, NM, (Diné Bikéyah [Navajo Nation]), Lives in Portland, OR, and elsewhere Torkwase Dyson (she/her) Born 1973 in Chicago, IL Lives in Beacon, NY JJJJJerome Ellis (any/all) Born 1989 in Groton, CT Lives in Norfolk, VA Jes Fan (he/him/they/them) Born 1990 in Scarborough, Canada Lives in Brooklyn, NY, and Hong Nikita Gale Born 1983 in Anchorage, AK, Dënéndeh and Dena’ina Ełnena Lives in Los Angeles, CA ektor garcia Born 1985 in Red Bluff, CA Lives in Mexico City, Mexico, and elsewhere Pippa Garner (she/her) Born 1942 in Evanston, IL Lives in Long Beach, CA Harmony Hammond (she/her) Born 1944 in Chicago, IL Lives in Galisteo, NM Sharon Hayes (she/her) Born 1970 in Baltimore, MD Lives in Philadelphia, PA Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst Holly Herndon (she/her) Born 1980 in Johnson City, TN Mat Dryhurst (he/him) Born 1984 in Birmingham, UK Lives in Berlin, Germany Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich (she/her) Born 1987 in New York, NY Lives in New York, NY Suzanne Jackson (she/her) Born 1944 in St. Louis, MO Lives in Savannah, GA Isaac Julien Born 1960 in London, UK Lives in London, UK, and Santa Cruz, CA Lotus L. Kang (she/her) Born 1985 in Toronto, Canada Lives in New York, NY Mary Kelly (she/her) Born 1941 in Fort Dodge, IA Lives in New York, NY Carolyn Lazard (they/them) Born 1987 in San Bernardino, CA Lives in New York, NY Dionne Lee (she/her/they/them) Born 1988 in New York, NY Lives in Columbus, OH Ligia Lewis (she/her) Born 1983 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Lives in Berlin, Germany Mary Lovelace O’Neal (she/her) Born 1942 in Jackson, MS Lives in Oakland, CA, and Merida, Mexico Cannupa Hanska Luger (he/him) Born 1979 in Fort Yates, ND (Standing Rock Reservation) Lives in Glorieta, NM K.R.M. Mooney (he/him) Born 1990 in Seattle, WA Lives in Brooklyn, NY Dala Nasser Born 1990 in Tyre, Lebanon Lives in Beirut, Lebanon, and London, UK Diane Severin Nguyen (she/her) Born 1990 in Carson, CA Lives in New York, NY Karyn Olivier (she/her) Born 1968 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Lives in Philadelphia, PA B. Ingrid Olson Born 1987 in Denver, CO Lives in Chicago, IL Eamon Ore-Giron (he/him) Born 1973 in Tucson, AZ Lives in Los Angeles, CA People Who Stutter Create Founded 2023 Jia Bin, Delicia Daniels, JJJJJerome Ellis, Conor Foran, Kristel Kubart Julia Phillips (she/her) Born 1985 in Hamburg, Germany Lives in Chicago, IL Mavis Pusey (she/her) Born 1928 in Retreat, Jamaica Died 2019 in Falmouth, VA Maja Ruznic (she/her) Born 1983 in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Yugoslavia) Lives in Placitas, NM Ser Serpas (she/her) Born 1995 in East Los Angeles, CA Lives in New York, NY Rose B. Simpson (she/her) Born 1990 in Santa Fe, NM Lives in Santa Clara Pueblo, NM P. Staff (they/them) Born 1987 in the UK Lives in Los Angeles, CA Clarissa Tossin (she/her) Born 1973 in Porto Alegre, Brazil Lives in Los Angeles, CA Tourmaline (she/her) Born 1983 in Boston, MA Lives in New York, NY Charisse Pearlina Weston (she/her) Born 1988 in Houston, TX Lives in New York, NY Kiyan Williams (they/them) Born 1991 in Newark, NJ Lives in Brooklyn, NY Carmen Winant (she/her) Born 1983 in San Francisco, CA Lives in Columbus, OH Takako Yamaguchi (she/her) Born 1952 in Okayama, Japan Lives in Santa Monica, CA Constantina Zavitsanos (any/all) Born 1977 in Reading, PA Lives in New York, NY |
| Film Program Artists: Siku Allooloo (she/her) Born 1986 in Yellowknife, Canada Lives in Bowser, Canada Seba Calfuqueo (she/her/they/them) Born 1991 in Santiago, Chile Lives in Ngulumapu, Wallmapu (Chile) Christopher Harris (he/him) Born 1962 in St. Louis, MO Lives in Coralville, IA Miranda Haymon Born 1993 in Boston, MA Lives in Brooklyn, NY Ho Tzu Nyen (he/him) Born 1976 in Singapore Lives in Singapore Yasmine Anlan Huang (she/her) Born 1996 in Guangzhou, China Lives in London, UK, and New York, NY Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich (she/her) Born 1987 in New York, NY Lives in New York, NY Aron Kantor (he/him/they/them) Born 1978 in San Francisco, CA Lives in Los Angeles, CA Kite (she/her) Born 1990 in Sylmar, CA Lives in Ancram, NY Gbenga Komolafe and Tee Park Gbenga Komolafe (they/them/he/him/she/her) Born 2000 in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria Tee Park (she/her) Born 1999 in Seoul, South Korea Lives in Los Angeles, CA Jenni Laiti (she/her) Born 1981 in Anár, Sápmi (Inari, Finland) Lives in Jåhkämåhkke, Sápmi (Jokkmokk, Sweden) Shuang Li (she/her) Born 1990 in Wuyi Mountains, China Lives in Berlin, Germany, and Geneva, Switzerland Simon Liu (he/him) Born 1987 in Hong Kong Lives in Brooklyn,NY Nyala Moon (she/her) Born 1992 in New York, NY Lives in the Brooklyn, NY Niillasaš-Jovnna Máreha Juhani Sunná Máret – Sunna Nousuniemi (they/them) Born 1993 in Anár, Sápmi Lives in Anár, Sápmi Edward Owens (he/him) Born 1949 in Chicago, IL Died 2010 in Chicago, IL Sydney Frances Pascal (she/her) Born 1993 in Nanaimo, Canada Lives in Vancouver, Canada Raqs Media Collective Founded 1992 in Delhi, India Jeebesh Bachi, Monica Marula, Shuddhabrata Sengupta Riar Rizaldi (he/him) Born 1990 in Bandung, Indonesia Lives in Yogyakarta, Indonesia Penelope Spheeris (she/her) Born 1945 in New Orleans, LA Lives in Los Angeles, CA Lada Suomenrinne (they/them) Born 1995 in Murmansk, Russia Lives in Espoo, Finland, and Njuorggán, Sápmi Alisi Telengut (she/her) Born 1989 in Inner Mongolia (Telengut and Mongolian nations) Lives in Berlin, Germany, and Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Canada Chanelle Tyson (they/them) Born 1989 in Greensboro, NC Lives in Los Angeles, CA Zulaa Urchuud (she/her) Born 1991 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Lives in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
| Performance Program Artists: Holland Andrews (they/them) Born 1988 in Orange, CA Lives in Brooklyn, NY Debit (she/her) Born 1986 in Monterrey, Mexico Lives in New York, NY JJJJJerome Ellis (any/all) Born 1989 in Groton, CT Lives in Norfolk, VA Sarah Hennies (she/her) Born 1979 in Louisville, KY Lives in Red Hook, NY Alex Tatarsky (they/them) Born 1989 in New York, NY Lives in New York, NY, and Philadelphia, PA |