Whitney Biennial 2026 | Art & Artists

Through Aug 23


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Maia Chao (she/her)

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Maia Chao’s Biennial performance, which takes place in the seventh-floor collection exhibition “Untitled” (America), is based on the choreography of how viewers encounter art and move through museums. The instructions on the scores displayed here are an invitation to try some of the experiments Chao used while rehearsing her performance. Viewers may or may not notice the resulting “micro-performances” of others in the gallery.

El performance de Maia Chao para la Bienal, que se presenta en la exposición de la colección Sin título(America) en el séptimo piso, se basa en la coreografía de cómo los espectadores se encuentran con el arte y se mueven por los museos. Las instrucciones que aparecen en las partituras que se muestran aquí son una invitación a probar algunos de los experimentos que Chao utilizó mientras ensayaba su performance. Los espectadores pueden o no darse cuenta de los “micro-performances” resultantes de otros en la galería.

Scores for the Museum Visitor, 2026

A series of museum brochures caught in motion, falling in front of a Hopper painting on a white wall.
A series of museum brochures caught in motion, falling in front of a Hopper painting on a white wall.

Edward Hopper, Seven A.M., 1948. Oil on canvas, 30 3/16 × 40 1/8 in. (76.7 × 101.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase and exchange 50.8. © 2026 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph courtesy Maia Chao

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.