Whitney Biennial 2002

Mar 7–May 26, 2002

The Whitney Biennial 2002 was curated by Lawrence R. Rinder, Chrissie Iles, Christiane Paul, and Debra Singer.

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View the full exhibition catalogue at the Internet Archive.

Artists

Installation photography

Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Conor McGrady, 2000. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Judith Schaechter, Speech Balloon, 1999; Judith Schaechter, Rejects, 2000; Judith Schaechter, Pale Oval, 1999; Judith Schaechter, BigtopFlophouse Bedspins, 2001; AA Bronson, Felix Partz June 5, 1994, 1994 and 1999; Yael Kanaarek, World of Awe, 2000. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Omer Fast, Glendive Foley, 2000. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Ouattara Watts, Creation of the World, 2001; Ouattara Watts, Face of God, 2000. Photograph by Charles Eshelman
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, March 7–May 26, 2002). Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). John Klima, EARTH, 2001. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Evan Holloway, Symmetry Demonstration, 2001; Evan Holloway, Gray Scale, 2000. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7-June 9, 2002). Left to right: Ari Marcopoulos, Stockholm, 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Mushroom Hike, 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Johan, 2000; Ari Marcopoulos, Untitled (Phone and Tickets), 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Hole in the Wall (detail), 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Checking the Line, 2000; Ari Marcopoulos, Michi, 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Mosquito, 2000; Ari Marcopoulos, Eero, 2000; Ari Marcopoulos, It was a good day, 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Juneau, AK, 1999; Ari Marcopoulos, Globe 1,1999. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Margaret Killgallen, Main Drag, 2001. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Anne Wilson, Topologies (3.5.02), 2002; back wall: Vera Lutter, Frankfurt Airport XIII: May 2, 2001, 2001; Lebeus Woods, Excavation, 2002; Lebeus Woods, Terrain 1-10, 1999. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, 2000; Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, 1999; Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, 2001; Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, 1999; Vincent Fecteau, Untitled, 1999. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Gogol Photographic installation of Public Art Projects, 2002. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Vija Celmins, Untitled(Web), 2000; Vija Celmins, Web #2, 2000–2001; top center: Vera Lutter, Friedrichshafen, Harbour I: August 22–23, 1999, 1999. Bottom Center: Richard Chartier, series ,2000; Lauretta Vinciarelli, Void Volume of Light #1-7, 2001. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Luis Gispert, Remix (Extended Beats), 2001; Luis Gispert, Untitled (Single Floating Cheerleader), 2001; Luis Gispert, Untitled (3 Asian Cheerleaders), 2001. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Javier Cambre, Habitat en Transito: Pinones (Displaced), 2002. Photograph by Charles Eshelman
Installation view of 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). John Leanos, Remembering Castration: Bloody Metaphors in Aztlan, 2000. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Christian Marclay, Prosthesis, 2000; Christian Marclay, Virtuoso, 2000; Christian Marclay, Drumkit, 1999; Christian Marclay, Lip Lock, 2000; Christian Marclay, Vertebrate, 2000. Photograph by Charles Eshelman
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Rural Studio, Newburn Baseball Club, Hale County, Alabama, completed 2001; Samuel Mockabee Tupac, One Love, 2001; Samuel Mockabee, The Rural Studio Lucy’s House, Hale County, Alabama, to be completed in 2002. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Left to right: Chan Chao, Member of KNLA, August, 1996; Chan Chao, Thaung Tin and Friend, May 1997, 2001; Chan Chao, Trin Taw Llang, January 1998, 2001; Chan Chao, Sein Win Tin and Nay Htoo, June 1997, 2001; Chan Chao, Kyaw Htoo and Robey, June 1997, 2001. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson
Installation view of the 2002 Biennial Exhibition (Whitney Museum of Art, New York, March 7–June 9, 2002). Vincent Mazeau, Surround Sound Gallery. Photograph by Jerry L. Thompson

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In the News

“[The 2002 Whitney Biennial] has been called noble, eclectic, generous and inclusive—not inaccurate characterizations from certain angles. But the latest version of this major showcase of American art is also bleak, pious, naïve, monotonous, isolated and isolating.” —The New York Times

“The main thing this biennial has going for it [. . .] is a point of view—idiosyncratic, hermetic, even kooky though it may be—that makes the show read a bit like a loose, discursive essay.” —The New York Times

“The Whitney Museum, for the duration of the 2002 Biennial, is a place not only to look but also to listen.” —The New York Times

“The Whitney Museum’s 2002 Biennial exhibition [. . .] has for the first time in more than 70 years opened its arms wide enough to include architecture.” —The New York Times

“The notion of an art world run by a command central is arrière-garde by now. And anyway—bottom line—after all the biennial words are in, it’s artists who matter and have the answers, and there are some good ones at the Whitney.” —The New York Times

“. . . net-based works have again featured prominently in [the Whitney’s] Biennial . . .” —The Guardian

“. . . the curators [. . .] managed, apparently by accident, to make one single crucial point: There is no such thing as American art. Maybe there never was.” —The Washington Post

“. . . filled with slight art, undemonstrative art, and casual art that borrows subjects from everyday life without making a lot of fuss. The art at the Whitney, as engaging and often as shallow as television commercials, was mostly as charming and sentimental as old Hollywood movies.” —The Burlington Magazine

More from this series

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