Whitney Biennial 2017

Mar 17–June 11, 2017

The 2017 Whitney Biennial, the seventy-eighth installment of the longest-running survey of American art, arrives at a time rife with racial tensions, economic inequities, and polarizing politics. Throughout the exhibition, artists challenge us to consider how these realities affect our senses of self and community. The Biennial features sixty-three individuals and collectives whose work takes a wide variety of forms, from painting and installation to activism and video-game design.

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Floor 1

Born 1981 in Los Angeles, CA
Lives in Los Angeles, CA

For the 2017 Biennial, Rafa Esparza built a rotunda out of adobe bricks made by hand from a combination of clay, horse dung, hay, and water from the Los Angeles River. Esparza’s gesture is a kind of mimicking of American colonization, but in reverse: while historically colonization progressed from east to west, imposing European structures on the land in the process, here Esparza has transformed land from Los Angeles into bricks and transported them to New York. The artist considers the dynamics involved in the labor of making the bricks an important part of the work. For previous projects, he worked alongside his father, who is trained in traditional adobe-making techniques. Here, however, Esparza worked with a group of Brown, queer-identified individuals—Rooster Cabrera, Maria Garcia, and Zena Zendejas—deepening a sense of community that also finds itself reflected in the generosity of the final installation: Esparza invited a number of artists to contribute works to the installation while keeping in mind the possibilities of this particular space, which holds none of the history of social and racial exclusions of a traditional museum gallery.

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Installation photography

Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Henry Taylor, Ancestors of Ghengis Khan with Black Man on horse, 2015–2017; Jessi Reaves, Basket Chair with Brown Pillow, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Lamp for Rancid Tree House, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Watertight Shelf with Zippers, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Modified Wall Shelf with Racing Purse, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Body Sized Shelf with Zippers, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Herman’s Dress, 2017
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017– June 11, 2017). From left to right: Jessi Reaves, Basket Chair with Brown Pillow, 2017; KAYA, SERENE, 2017
KAYA. Installation view. SERENE: Processione (ALIMA), 2017; Processione (JAKE), 2017; Processione (TIN), 2017; Processione (JOHANNA), 2017 by KAYA. Mixed media. Collection of the artists; courtesy Gavin Brown’s enterprise, N.Y.,On Stellar Rays, N.Y.; Meyer Kainer, Vienna; and Deborah Schamoni, Munich. Whitney Museum of American Museum, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: KAYA, SERENE, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Lamp for Rancid Tree House, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Watertight Shelf with Zippers, 2017; Tala Madani, Sex Ed by God, 2017; Tala Madani, Shitty Disco, 2016; Tala Madani, Black Sun, 2017; Tala Madani, Babeless, 2017. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: An-My Le, Monument, General P.G.T. Beauregard, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Fall with Me for a Million Days (My sweet waterfall), 2016; Tala Madani, Shafts, 2017
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). Clockwise beginning in upper left: Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Matriarchs of the Hudson Valley (1980s-90s), 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, The Charmers, 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, NADCP, 2015; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Trump Rally (And some of them I assume are good people), 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Art Party, 2015; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Good Morning, 2014; From left to right: Sky Hopinka, Visions of an Island, 2016; Jo Baer, Royal Families (Curves, Points and Little Ones), 2013; Henry Taylor, The 4th, 2012–17; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Fall with Me for a Million Days (My sweet waterfall), 2016
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, St. Tammany Parish, 2016; KAYA, SERENE, 2017; Clockwise beginning in upper left: Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, It’s a Sports Bar But It Used to Be a Gay Bar, 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Untitled, 2017; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, New York Knicks, 2015; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, River Oaks Drive, 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Don’t Look Now / Goodbye Daughters, 2016; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Asher and Miro, 2015; Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, The Yard, 2015
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Jo Baer, In the Land of the Giants (Spirals and Stairs), 2012; Jo Baer, Heraldry (Posts and Spreads), 2013; Sky Hopinka, Visions of an Island, 2016
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Jo Baer, Dawn (Lines and Destinations), 2009/2011; Jo Baer, Royal Families (Curves, Points and Little Ones), 2013; Kaari Upson, In Search of the Perfect Double II, 2016; An-My Le, Monument, General P.G.T. Beauregard, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2016
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: From left to right: Henry Taylor, A HAPPY DAY FOR US, 2017; Deana Lawson, Signs, 2016; Kaari Upson, In Search of the Perfect Double II, 2016; Asad Raza, Root sequence. Mother tongue, 2017; Henry Taylor, The 4th, 2012–17
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). Clockwise beginning with upper left: Kaari Upson, Transitional Object Six-Pack, 2016; Kaari Upson, In Search of the Perfect Double II, 2016; Kaari Upson, Supplement II, 2016; Kaari Upson, T.T., 2017; Kaari Upson, Snag, 2016; Kaari Upson, In Search of the Perfect Double II, 2016
Asad Raza. Installation view. Root sequence. Mother tongue, 2017. 26 Trees, UV lighting, customized scents, carpet, cabinet with possessions of caretakers. Collection of the assembled. Whitney Museum, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Ajay Kurian. Installation view. Childermass, 2017. Dimensions variable. Collection of the artist; courtesy 47 Canal, New York. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: John Divola, Abandoned Painting B, 2007; John Divola, Abandoned Painting I, 2008; John Divola, Abandoned Painting F, 2008; John Divola, Abandoned Painting H, 2008. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Frances Stark, Ian F. Svenonius’s “Censorship Now” for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Spread 7 of 8 (pp. 24-25) (the thrown voice of Wall Street), 2017; Frances Stark, Ian F. Svenonius’s “Censorship Now” for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Spread 8 of 8 (pp. 26-27) (the rocker is reduced to nothing), 2017; Frances Stark, Ian F. Svenonius’s “Censorship Now” for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Spread 1 of 8 (Sincerely), 2017; Frances Stark, Ian F. Svenonius’s “Censorship Now” for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Spread 2 of 8 (with gilded responsive W), 2017; Frances Stark, Ian F. Svenonius’s “Censorship Now” for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Spread 3 of 8 (pp. 16-17) (the state, like a rampaging mob boss), 2017; In center of room: Jessi Reaves, Ottoman with parked Chairs, 2017
Installation View of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: John Riepenhoff, Handler, 2015 with Michelle Grabner, Untitled, 2016; John Ripenhoff, Handler, 2015 with Society of Independent Artists (1916–1944), Untitled (Collaborative Work), 1922; John Riepenhoff, Handler, 2015 with Saige Rowe, and, and, also pt. I & pt. II, 2017; John Riepenhoff, Handler, 2015 with Peter Barrickman, November Edit, 2017. Photograph Ronald Amstutz
Installation View of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; John Riepenhoff, The John Riepnhoff Experience, 2013/2017; John Riepenhoff, Handler, 2015. Photograph Ronald Amstutz
Anicka Yi. Installation view. The Flavor Genome, 2016. High-definition 3D video, color, sound; 22 min. Collection of the artist; courtesy 47 Canal, New York. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; Matt Browning, Untitled, 2016; Pope.L aka William Pope.L, Claim (Whitney Version), 2017; Cauleen Smith, In the Wake, 2017; Jon Kessler, Exodus, 2016; Occupy Museums, Debtfair, 2017; Jon Kessler, Evolution, 2016
Occupy Museums. Installation view. Debtfair, 2017. Thirty artworks and interactive website. Courtesy the artists. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Jon Kessler. Installation view. Evolution, 2016. Mixed media with motors, surveillance camera, iPhone, and LCD screens, 96 × 75 1/2 × 63 in. (243.8 × 191.8 × 160 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy the artist and Salon 94, New York. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Installation View of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Dana Schutz, Open Casket, 2016; Harold Mendez, but I sound better since you cut my throat, 2016; Julien Nguyen, Executive Function, 2017; Julie Nguyen, Executive Solutions, 2017. Photograph Ronald Amstutz
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Ulrike Muller, Rug (gato chico), 2015; Occupy Museums, Debtfair, 2017; Harold Mendez, but I sound better since you cut my throat, 2016; Julien Nguyen, Executive Function, 2017; Julien Nguyen, Executive Solutions, 2017; Harold Mendez, At night we walk in circles, 2016; Jon Kessler, Evolution, 2016; Cauleen Smith, In the Wake, 2017; Pope L. aka William Pope.L, Claim (Whitney Version), 2017; Otto Gillen, New York, 2015; Dana Schultz, Elevator, 2017
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Aliza Nisenbaum, La Talaverita, Sunday Morning NY Times, 2016; Aliza Nisenbaum, MOIA’s NYC Women’s Cabinet, 2016; Aliza Nisenbaum, 2 Years of Correspondence from Inmate 39807, 2016; Carrie Moyer, Belle Ilse, 2016; Aliz Nisenbaum, Latin Runners Club, 2016. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Carrie Moyer, Candy Cap, 2016; Jessi Reaves, Bucket Chair with Covers, 2017; Jessi Reaves, Chenille Couch After Ruhlmann, 2017; Carrie Moyer, String Theory + Daisy Chains, 2016; Leigh Ledare, Vokzal, 2016
Leigh Ledare. Installation view. Vokzal, 2016. Three components, 16mm film, color, sound; 58 min. total. The Art Institute of Chicagol; restricted gift of the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, 2017.18. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). From left to right: Raul De Nieves, beginning & the end neither & the otherwise betwixt & between the end is the beginning & the end, 2016; Raul De Nieves, UUU MEE, 2015–16; Raul De Nieves, Somos Monstros 2, 2016; Leigh Ledare, Vokzal, 2016
Chemi Roasdo Seijo. Installation view. Salón-Sala-Salón (Classroom/Gallery/Classroom), 2017. Educational collaboration with the Lower Manhattan Arts Academy and instructor Julie Roinos. Courtesy Embajada, San Juan. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph Ronald Amstutz
Installation view of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). Back left wall: Park McArthur, Another word for memory is life, 2017. Front hanging: Cauleen Smith, In the Wake, 2017. Photograph Ronald Amstutz
Postcommodity, A Very Long Line, 2016. Installation View of the Whitney Biennial 2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 17, 2017- June 11, 2017). Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Rafa Esparza. Installation view. Figure Ground: Beyond the White Field, 2017. 3,100 adobe bricks. The Whitney Biennial 2017 (March 17, 2017–June 11, 2017). Collection of the artist. With Beatriz Cortez, Joe Jiménez, Dorian Ulises López Macías, Eamon Ore-Giron and Gala Porras-Kim
Puppies, Puppies. Installation view. Untitled (Sauron), 2017. Inkjet print on vinyl, 17 x 29 ft. (5.2 x 8.8 m). Courtesy the artist; What Pipeline, Detroit; and Queer Thoughts, New York. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Bill Orcutt
Larry Bell. Installation view. Pacific Red II, 2017. Laminated glass. Twenty-four 72 x 96 in. (182.9 x 243.8 cm) panels and twenty-four 72 x 48 in. (182.9 x 121.9 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, Los Angeles. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Ronald Amstutz
Puppies Puppies. Installation view. Liberty (Liberté), 2017. Performance, March 13, 2017. Courtesy the artist and Balice Hertling, Paris. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, N.Y. Photograph by Bill Orcutt

Exhibition Catalogue

The catalogue for the 2017 Biennial features texts and images representing the participants, artists who work in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography, film, and performance, as well as essays by the two curators and contributions by the advisors. As a record of the artists and ideas presented in this year’s Biennial, it serves as an essential resource on current trends in contemporary art in the United States.

Read an excerpt from the catalogue

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Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection

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In the News

“This exhibition makes an exciting, powerful case for art.”
—The New York Times

“Presenting a mélange of American perspectives, the biennial succeeds in keeping a finger on the pulse of a divisive and diverse cultural landscape.”
—Apollo Magazine

“The 2017 Whitney Biennial is the best of its kind in some time.”
—New York Magazine

“A must-see exhibition for anyone interested in contemporary art, a snapshot of American creativity and sometimes American culture.”
—PBS

“Everything had to be reinvented for the 2017 Whitney Biennial . . . But then, this leading showcase of contemporary American art feels refreshed in other ways, too.”
—The New York Times

“The Whitney revealed the 63 participants in its sprawling survey of what’s happening now in contemporary art—the new, the influential and the potentially provocative.”
—The New York Times

“The 2017 Whitney Biennial Will Feature Edgy, Trending Artists in ‘Turbulent’ Times”
—artnet News

“The Whitney Biennial, inaugurated by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1932, still stands out as the pre-eminent biennial in this country.”
—The New York Times

More About the Exhibition

The formation of self and the individual’s place in a turbulent society are among the key themes reflected in the work of the artists selected for the 2017 Whitney Biennial. The exhibition includes sixty-three participants, ranging from emerging to well-established individuals and collectives working in painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, film and video, photography, activism, performance, music, and video game design.

The Whitney Biennial is the longest running survey of contemporary art in the United States, with a history of exhibiting the most promising and influential artists and provoking lively debate. The 2017 Biennial is the Museum’s seventy-eighth in a continuous series of Annual and Biennial exhibitions initiated by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1932. It is the first to be held in the Whitney’s downtown home at 99 Gansevoort Street, and the largest ever in terms of gallery space.

The 2017 Whitney Biennial is co-curated by Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks.

The film program is organized by Christopher Y. Lew, Mia Locks, and Aily Nash.

Read more about the 2017 Biennial curators and advisors.

Pope.L is the recipient of the 2017 Bucksbaum Award.

Whitney Biennial 2017 is presented by

Major support is provided by

Major support is also provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston and the National Committee of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Significant support is provided by the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation.

Generous support is provided by 2017 Biennial Committee Co-Chairs: Leslie Bluhm, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Bob Gersh, and Miyoung Lee; 2017 Biennial Committee members: Ashley Leeds and Christopher Harland, Diane and Adam E. Max, Teresa Tsai, Suzanne and Bob Cochran, Rebecca and Martin Eisenberg, Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman, Barbara and Michael Gamson, Kourosh Larizadeh and Luis Pardo, Iris Z. Marden, Artur Melentin, Tracy and Gary Mezzatesta, and Jackson Tang; the Henry Peterson Foundation; and anonymous donors.

Additional support provided by the Austrian Federal Chancellery and Phileas – A Fund for Contemporary Art.

Funding is also provided by special Biennial endowments created by Melva Bucksbaum, Emily Fisher Landau, Leonard A. Lauder, and Fern and Lenard Tessler.

Additional endowment support is provided by The Keith Haring Foundation Exhibition Fund, Donna Perret Rosen and Benjamin M. Rosen, and the Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation.

Curatorial research and travel for this exhibition were funded by an endowment established by Rosina Lee Yue and Bert A. Lies, Jr., MD.

New York magazine is the exclusive media sponsor of Whitney Biennial 2017.

More from this series

Learn more about the Whitney Biennial, the longest-running survey of American art.