Impact Of The Whitney Biennial Is The Truths It Reveals

Artist Coleen Smith

Have you had trouble prying your eyes from the latest tweet or news report, lately?

Imagine rooms full of sculptures made from found objects. Colorful, boisterous paintings. Large. Each body of work was dealing with recent worldwide political issues, refugees, oppressive governments. Some work played with the idea that in some ways we are oblivious to the changes going on around us.  I read about how the curators were chosen. As it was their first-time biennial experience and I love how they sifted through 100’s of artists to get to the 63 artist’s and collectives gathered together on the 5th and 6th floors of the museum. Additional work is placed in surprising places throughout the building.  

It is not like going to a  “regular” art museum or art fair. It is, at first, more like a discovery of how, this year, artists have been affected by the socio-political climate, and injustice.  After investigating some of the work, I was reminded of how much the current state of the world has sharpened my focus.

So do go there. 

See and walk amongst this curated world in which artists have responded to, and found respite in drawing and painting their response to the world of the past year. Eventually, you will find the “forest”, when you are halfway through. This exhibit does give me hope. 

caveat:  I did not participate in the virtual reality  exhibit. Topic: violence.