Whitney Biennial 2022:
Quiet as It’s Kept
Apr 6–Oct 16, 2022
Harold Ancart
2
Floor 5
Born 1980 in Brussels, Belgium
Lives in New York, NY
When making paintings, Harold Ancart approaches his work as a draftsman. He has said: “Drawing has to do with potential. It is always a first step in materialization, an idea that’s going to lead to something else. Drawing is always a promise for something to come.” This idea of promise begins with the image Ancart chooses to realize, including fire, flowers, and the horizon, among others. Before screens, the artist has observed, these were the points of human fixation, where people directed their time and attention. Ancart deploys these subjects to bring viewers in and encourage them to look longer at each painting, making their own meanings.
The Guiding Light, 2021
Harold Ancart, The Guiding Light, 2021. Oil stick and graphite pencil on canvas, artist’s frame, 99 1/2 × 137 1/2 in. (252.7 × 349.3 cm). Collection of the artist; image courtesy the artist; David Zwirner, New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong; and Clearing, New York and Brussels