A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.
A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.

Alexander Calder, Calder's Circus (detail), 1926-31 (installation view, High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 18, 2025–March 9, 2026). Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.1-72. © 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Gus Powell

Last chance

High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100
Through Mar 9
Learn more about the exhibition Book Tickets
A large group of people dance together outdoors, raising their arms, while others watch and walk nearby.

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The Whitney Biennial is the longest-running survey of American art, and has been a hallmark of the Museum since 1932. The current format—a survey show of work in all media occurring every two years—has been in place since 1973. Mark your calendars for the next iteration, opening March 2026. 

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artport

Check out art that's created specifically for the web on artport—the Whitney's gallery space for Internet and new-media art.

Dive Into Our Collection

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  • A thin green triangular strip runs horizontally near the top of a large white canvas.
    A thin green triangular strip runs horizontally near the top of a large white canvas.

    Carmen Herrera, Blanco y Verde, 1959. Acrylic on canvas, overall: 68 1/8 × 60 1/2 in. (173 × 153.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 2014.63. © Carmen Herrera; courtesy Lisson Gallery, London

    2016:
    © Carmen Herrera

  • A cluster of long, bending, caked black rods emerges from a nest of rocks. The rocks sit on a patch of black, ash-like material.
    A cluster of long, bending, caked black rods emerges from a nest of rocks. The rocks sit on a patch of black, ash-like material.

    David Hammons, Untitled, 1992. Human hair, wire, metallic mylar, sledgehammer, plastic beads, string, metal food tin, panty hose, leather, tea bags, and feathers
    , dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Mrs. Percy Uris Bequest and the Painting and Sculpture Committee 92.128a-z. © 2025 David Hammons / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • A series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white
    A series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white

    Theaster Gates, Minority Majority, 2012. Decommissioned fire hoses and vinyl on plywood, overall: 66 × 111 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (167.6 × 283.2 × 9.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Barbara and Michael Gamson 2016.262

  • A Black man wearing a black beret, suit jacket, and slacks sits in a peacock chair. The back of his chair is various shades of grey and features glimpses of newspaper clippings throughout. He holds a spear in his left hand and a rifle in the other. The floor is rust colored with an irregularly shaped zebra print rug. The wall behind him is off-white with rust colored intersecting lines.
    A Black man wearing a black beret, suit jacket, and slacks sits in a peacock chair. The back of his chair is various shades of grey and features glimpses of newspaper clippings throughout. He holds a spear in his left hand and a rifle in the other. The floor is rust colored with an irregularly shaped zebra print rug. The wall behind him is off-white with rust colored intersecting lines.

    Henry Taylor, Huey Newton, 2007. Acrylic and collaged photocopies on canvas, overall: 94 9/16 × 76 1/4 in. (240.2 × 193.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg in honor of Adam D. Weinberg 2016.86. © Henry Taylor

  • A horizontal canvas covered in stuffed animals and afghan blankets in muted colors.
    A horizontal canvas covered in stuffed animals and afghan blankets in muted colors.

    Mike Kelley, More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid and The Wages of Sin, 1987. Stuffed fabric toys and afghans on canvas with dried corn; wax candles on wood and metal base, overall: 120 3/4 × 151 3/4 × 31 3/4 in. (306.7 × 385.4 × 80.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 89.13a-d. © The Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • People in swimsuits sit under a pink umbrella on a beach, with a lifeguard standing nearby.
    People in swimsuits sit under a pink umbrella on a beach, with a lifeguard standing nearby.

    Jared French, State Park, 1946. Tempera on composition board, overall: 24 7/16 × 24 1/2 in. (62.1 × 62.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Donnelley Erdman 65.78

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.