The Whitney Museum of American Art has announced the artist lineup for its flagship biennial, with a theme focusing on concepts of reality in the age of artificial intelligence and the fluidity of identity.
Organized by curators Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli, the 81st edition of the show leads with the title “Even Better Than The Real Thing.” It will feature 69 artists and two collectives across a gallery showcase and accompanying film and performance program. The diverse line-up includes emerging creatives, such as the duo of Gbenga Komolafe and Tee Park, as much as storied artists, including Mary Lovelace O’Neal and Pippa Garner. Two artists, Jamaican-born painter Mavis Pusey and filmmaker Edward Owens, are receiving posthumous showcases.
In a joint statement, Iles and Onli called the exhibition “unharmonious in its collectivity” and a “dissonant chorus,” borrowing words from artist Ligia Lewis, who will present a dance-based film installation.
“It is striking how many artists are contending with relationships between the psyche and the body, and the precarity of the past few years,” their statement continued. “Artists are continuing to grapple with history and identity; we have made an exhibition that unfolds as a set of relations, exploring the challenges of coming together in a fractured moment.”
The theme and title, focusing on ideas of “the real,” will also investigate how artificial intelligence has challenged discussions about identity—hence the inclusion of Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, whose joint work has explored the impact of A.I. on art and artists.
In a statement, Scott Rothkopf, the director of the museum, praised Iles and Onli for leading the organization of the exhibition with “rigor and empathy,” adding that he looked forward to “reimagin[ing] the landscape of contemporary American art.”
“The Biennial is an engine that powers the Whitney forward, by introducing new artists and ideas to our community and beyond,” he added. “It is both what we do and who we are.”
Here is the full list of participating artists:
Gallery artists
Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio
Born 1990 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Dora Budor
Born 1984 in Zagreb, Croatia
Lives in New York, NY
Seba Calfuqueo
Born 1991 in Santiago, Chile
Lives in Ngulumapu, Wallmapu (Chile)
Demian DinéYazhi’
Born 1983 in Gallup, NM, (Diné Bikéyah [Navajo Nation])
Lives in Portland, OR, and elsewhere
Torkwase Dyson
Born 1973 in Chicago, IL
Lives in Beacon, NY
JJJJJerome Ellis
Born 1989 in Groton, CT
Lives in Norfolk, VA
Jes Fan
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
Born 1942 in Evanston, IL
Lives in Long Beach, CA
Harmony Hammond
Born 1944 in Chicago, IL
Lives in Galisteo, NM
Sharon Hayes
Born 1970 in Baltimore, MD
Lives in Philadelphia, PA
Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst
Holly Herndon: Born 1980 in Johnson City, TN
Mat Dryhurst: Born 1984 in Birmingham, UK
Live in Berlin, Germany
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich
Born 1987 in New York, NY
Lives in New York, NY
Suzanne Jackson
Born 1944 in St. Louis, MO
Lives in Savannah, GA
Isaac Julien
Born 1960 in London, U.K.
Lives in London, U.K., and Santa Cruz, CA
Lotus L. Kang
Born 1985 in Toronto, Canada
Lives in New York, NY
Mary Kelly
Born 1941 in Fort Dodge, IA
Lives in New York, NY
Carolyn Lazard
Born 1987 in San Bernardino, CA
Lives in New York, NY
Dionne Lee
Born 1988 in New York, NY
Lives in Columbus, OH
Ligia Lewis
Born 1983 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Lives in Berlin, Germany
Mary Lovelace O’Neal
Born 1942 in Jackson, MS
Lives in Oakland, CA, and Merida, Mexico
Cannupa Hanska Luger
Born 1979 in Fort Yates, ND (Standing Rock Reservation)
Lives in Glorieta, NM
K.R.M. Mooney
Born 1990 in Seattle, WA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Dala Nasser
Born 1990 in Tyre, Lebanon
Lives in Beirut, Lebanon, and London, U.K.
Diane Severin Nguyen
Born 1990 in Carson, CA
Lives in New York, NY
Karyn Olivier
Born 1968 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Lives in Philadelphia, PA
Ingrid Olson
Born 1987 in Denver, CO
Lives in Chicago, IL
Eamon Ore-Giron
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
Born 1985 in Hamburg, Germany
Lives in Chicago, IL
Mavis Pusey
Born 1928 in Retreat, Jamaica
Died 2019 in Falmouth, VA
Maja Ruznic
Born 1983 in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Yugoslavia)
Lives in Placitas, NM
Ser Serpas
Born 1995 in East Los Angeles, CA
Lives in New York, NY
Rose B. Simpson
Born 1990 in Santa Fe, NM
Lives in Santa Clara Pueblo, NM
P. Staff
Born 1987 in the U.K.
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Clarissa Tossin
Born 1973 in Porto Alegre, Brazil
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Tourmaline
Born 1983 in Boston, MA
Lives in New York, NY
Charisse Pearlina Weston
Born 1988 in Houston, TX
Lives in New York, NY
Kiyan Williams
Born 1991 in Newark, NJ
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Carmen Winant
Born 1983 in San Francisco, CA
Lives in Columbus, OH
Takako Yamaguchi
Born 1952 in Okayama, Japan
Lives in Santa Monica, CA
Constantina Zavitsanos
Born 1977 in Reading, PA
Lives in New York, NY
Film program artists
Siku Allooloo
Born 1986 in Yellowknife, Canada
Lives in Bowser, Canada
Seba Calfuqueo
Born 1991 in Santiago, Chile
Lives in Ngulumapu, Wallmapu (Chile)
Christopher Harris
Born 1962 in St. Louis, MO
Lives in Coralville, IA
Miranda Haymon
Born 1993 in Boston, MA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Ho Tzu Nyen
Born 1976 in Singapore
Lives in Singapore
Yasmine Anlan Huang
Born 1996 in Guangzhou, China
Lives in London, U.K., and New York, NY
Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich
Born 1987 in New York, NY
Lives in New York, NY
Aron Kantor
Born 1978 in San Francisco, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Kite
Born 1990 in Sylmar, CA
Lives in Ancram, NY
Gbenga Komolafe and Tee Park
Komolafe: Born 2000 in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria
Park: Born 1999 in Seoul, South Korea
Live in Los Angeles, CA
Jenni Laiti
Born 1981 in Anár, Sápmi (Inari, Finland)
Lives in Jåhkämåhkke, Sápmi (Jokkmokk, Sweden)
Shuang Li
Born 1990 in Wuyi Mountains, China
Lives in Berlin, Germany, and Geneva, Switzerland
Simon Liu
Born 1987 in Hong Kong
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Nyala Moon
Born 1992 in New York, NY
Lives in the Brooklyn, NY
Niillasaš-Jovnna Máreha Juhani Sunná Máret – Sunna Nousuniemi
Born 1993 in Anár, Sápmi
Lives in Anár, Sápmi
Edward Owens
Born 1949 in Chicago, IL
Died 2010 in Chicago, IL
Sydney Frances Pascal
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
Born 1990 in Bandung, Indonesia
Lives in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Penelope Spheeris
Born 1945 in New Orleans, LA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Lada Suomenrinne
Born 1995 in Murmansk, Russia
Lives in Espoo, Finland, and Njuorggán, Sápmi
Alisi Telengut
Born 1989 in Inner Mongolia (Telengut and Mongolian nations)
Lives in Berlin, Germany, and Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, Canada
Chanelle Tyson
Born 1989 in Greensboro, NC
Lives in Los Angeles, CA
Zulaa Urchuud
Born 1991 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Lives in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Performance program artists
Holland Andrews
Born 1988 in Orange, CA
Lives in Brooklyn, NY
Debit
Born 1986 in Monterrey, Mexico
Lives in New York, NY
JJJJJerome Ellis
Born 1989 in Groton, CT
Lives in Norfolk, VA
Sarah Hennies
Born 1979 in Louisville, KY
Lives in Red Hook, NY
Alex Tatarsky
Born 1989 in New York, NY
Lives in New York, NY, and Philadelphia, PA
Whitney Biennial 2024: Even Better Than The Real Thing is on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art, 99 Gansevoort St, New York, from March 20, 2024.
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