Whitney Biennial 2010

While the Whitney Biennial has no obviously discernible theme, certain ideas of why this group of artists were chosen to represent the state of American art at this time begins to emerge upon reflection. Its scaled back scope , and insular aesthetic is placed in a historical context by the inclusion of "Collecting Biennials", the 5th floor showing of work from post annuals and and biennials on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. Begin 1932, the show was an annual event until 1973, alternating sculpture and painting each year where in lieu of prizes, some works were bought for the museums permanent collection. To further historicize the 2010 show, the catalog lists all the artist who ever participated, by year and reprints various reviews from The New York Times.

This show is less political than some recent shows and according to its curators, Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari, is based on a "personal modernism" wherein a rediscovery of the "experimental nature of the artistic endeavor and politics within the self" are needed "in order to understand our role in a larger social and cultural transformation".

Apparently, modernism is alive and well as indicated by the inclusion of the paintings of Sara Crowner. Her large sewn and painted canvas pieces are, according to the curators, reconstructing the styles of earlier movements and creating a dialogue with traditions of craft and the handmade.

Susan Frecon's large red paintings are also in the modernist tradition where color and quality of the paint, surface texture and luminosity of forms create a tension and balance that have faintly architectural references.

The lovely, intimate, sparse but brightly colored landscapes of Maureen Gallace seemed somehow out of place in the Whitney. Perhaps they are a parody of an earlier American Modernism, again implying that all styles and forms are valid areas of exploration.

In the same vein are the large ink on paper flower paintings of Charles Ray. These brightly colored pieces are almost caricature and have a slightly disturbing unfinished quality that comes from their placement on the page and the amount of unpainted space. I think the act of painting these must be important in a meditative zen way.

Other paintings of note include works by Scott Short, R.H. Quaytman and Storm Tharp. Scott Short's process of copying copies many times reduces an image to a textural pattern that he then copies meticulously in paint creating an evocative image that involves mechanical deconstruction with a painterly process. R.H. Quaytman's silk screened photographs combined with oil paint uses optical patterns and layers of references to other artists to create a kind of montage of personal motifs. The disembodied characters inhabiting the paintings of Storm Tharp seem to have one foot in another world, perhaps the subconscience. These haunting portraits are literally drawn out of the puddles of wet ink, some areas well defined while others remain vaguely obscure, that reminds us of our own partially formed nature.

The curators use of the bridge and fence metaphor is aptly reflected in Robert Groovenor (untitled, 2009) piece that is formally architectural in nature and based on the relationship of the the main elements, a red flocked bridge that is furniture related in its color and texture and a screen like "fence".

Jessica Jackson Hutchins and Hannah Greely are both using quotidian objects to make sculptural works. Hutchins, in "Couch For a Long Time, 2009", covers a couch from her childhood home with newspaper articles about Barack Obama and placed ceramic objects on it that seem to act as surrogates for people, while Greely in "Dual" (2005-9) creates a dingy scene from a bar and apparently copies or makes objects that mimic the real thing.

Another bridge piece that combines the sculptural object with video is "We Love America, We Hate America" by the collective called the Bruce High Quality Foundation. An ambulance-hearse that projects a montage of film clips onto the windshield, part history, part pop-culture, part spoof and part critique of the art world makes one realize that art can be fun and entertaining while providing social commentary.

The photography of Nina Berman, and Stephanie Sinclair are strong on social commentary as well. Berman's "Marine Wedding" is a heartbreaking portrait of former Maine Sargent Ty Ziegel, disfigured in the Iraq war,it is intimate and disturbing. In the hard to look at series "Self-immolation: A Cry for Help (2003-05) Sinclair documents the brutality and despair of women and girls who are suffering from self-inflicted woulds committed to expose domestic violence.

Ultimately, the video works are the most compelling part of the Whitney Biennial 2010, among many interesting pieces a few stand out for me: Kerry Tribes's piece on memory, Shannon Hays "Parole" and Ari Marcopoulos's "Detroit" 2009 where two kids improvise on electric guitars pedals. A filmed rant by Marianne Vitale is at first abrasive but after a few minutes the irony and humor become apparent.

While this Biennial may be a bit underwhelming, it never the less has enough merit to justify the time and expense involved and raises some important questions about the nature of artistic endeavor and the socio-economic system called the art world.