The entrance to the fourth floor of the Whitney Biennial, which was curated by Michelle Grabner. (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted)

The entrance to the fourth floor of the Whitney Biennial, which was curated by Michelle Grabner. (all photos by the author for Hyperallergic unless otherwise noted)

During the opening remarks for the 2014 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Chief Curator Donna de Salvo said that this year’s exhibition was “one biennial with three distinct points of view,” so we’ve decided to explore that diversity in perspectives with three separate photo essays of the Biennial — one per floor and curator.

Whitney Museum Director Adam Weinberg addressing the media during today's press conference. (photo by Mostafa Heddays/Hyperallergic)

Whitney Museum Director Adam Weinberg addressing the media during today’s press conference. (photo by Mostafa Heddays/Hyperallergic)

Today, we start with Michelle Grabner’s display on the fourth floor, which was the most tightly curated and coherent of the three.

While Grabner’s introductory wall text was a little off-putting — she “considered the job of organizing the Biennial as being more ‘curriculum building’ than curating,” whatever that means — her selections were attractive, conceptually interesting, and fearless in its integration of porcelain, ceramic, and more painting than we’ve been accustomed to seeing at recent Whitney Biennials.

Detail of Alma Allen, "Untitled" (2013), walnut on aluminum base

Detail of Alma Allen, “Untitled” (2013), walnut on aluminum base

If Grabner’s decision to include rather lackluster notebooks of author David Foster Wallace seemed odd, her general exploration of who is an artist nowadays was quite fascinating. Do Wallace’s scribblings offer us a largely ignored visual dimension to his writings or are they simply the relics of his literary output?

When Philip Vanderhyden re-creates Gretchen Bender’s “People in Pain,” which was originally made in 1988, should we see the result as a collaboration or an homage by one towards the other? And what about Donelle Woolford’s riff on Richard Prince’s Joke paintings? Woolford’s versions highlight the social history of jokes by emphasizing the fact they’re transformed by each teller in a simple gesture of cultural appropriation. The joke is further complicated by the fact that Woolford herself is a fictional character made up by Joe Scanlan, a riff on the idea of the artist itself.

Grabner’s selections also take a serious look at abstract painting by women artists, who compete in the traditionally male-dominated world of American abstract painting by marking their territory through paint. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen such a boisterous conversation between contemporary female painters in a major museum. Works by Amy Sillman, Louise Fishman, Jacqueline Humphries, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, to name a few, are central to this artistic dialogue.

The most haunting work on the fourth floor was Zoe Leonard’s room-sized camera obscura (it was the only work on the floor curated by Anthony Elms and not Grabner). Though the work did not seem like much to the human eye, my camera lens captured a magical view of the outside world projected into the darkened room.

In the coming days we’ll publish photo essays from the other floors, and we’ll certainly discuss the threads and ideas that emerge throughout the Biennial, but until then enjoy our small visual tour of the fourth floor.

dfsfs

Works by Joel Otterson, including “Rags to Riches” (1993–2013) in the foreground, which is made of patch-worked and hand-quilted fabrics.

whitney4thFl-03-640

Dan Walsh’s “Outfit” (2013) and Joel Otterson, including “Rags to Riches” (1993–2013)

whitney4thFl-07-640

Works by Joel Otterson

whitney4thFl-05-640

Left, Amy Sillman’s “Mother” (2013–14), and, right foreground, Pam Lins and Amy Sillman’s “Fells” (2013–14).

whitney4thFl-06-640

Works by John Mason, including “The Wall” (2010) in the background, and various ceramic works in the foreground (1997–2002).

whitney4thFl-08-640

Donelle Woolford’s “Detumescence” (2013), ink, paper, glue, and gesso on canvas

whitney4thFl-12-640

Sheila Hicks’s “Pillar of Inquiry/Supple Column” (2013–14), acrylic, linen, cotton, bamboo, and silk

whitney4thFl-14-640

David Robbins’s “Open-Air Writing Desk” (2013) with his “Bookcase for Concrete Comedy” An Alternative History of Twentieth-Century Comedy” (2013) in background.

whitney4thFl-20-640

Two untitled works by Alma Allen (both 2013)

whitney4thFl-18-640

Detail of Jacqueline Humphries “41/14” (2014), oil on canvas

whitney4thFl-09-640

Sterling Ruby’s “Basin Theology/Butterfly Wreck” (2013)

12938722675_f655bcfe3f_z

Reflections in Shana Lutker’s “Protestations!” (2014)

12938734025_c9454a7445_z

Small detail of Gretchen Bender’s “People in Pain” (1988, remade by Philip Vanderhyden in 2014), paint on heat-set vinyl and neon

12938686284_79288fee22_z

Part of a wall of works by Karl Haendel

12938378603_12d80368f4_h-640

Ken Lum, “Midway Shopping Plaza” (2014), powder-coated aluminum and enameled plexiglass

12938718444_432d1374f8_z

Detail of Peter Schuyff’s “Sans Papier” (2004–14), carved pencils and sticks

whitney4thFl-10-640

Detail of Dawoud Bey’s “Maxine Adams and Amelia Maxwell (from the Birmingham Project)” (2012), two pigmented inkjet prints mounted on Dibond, ed. no. 1/6

whitney4thFl-22-640

Ricky Swallow, “Chair Study/Ripple (soot)” (2014), patinated bronze

12938785195_8e8b644cf9_z

A view of the display of various notebooks and materials by David Foster Wallace

12938776875_a47068e199_z

Detail of David Foster Wallace’s “Interview notes for ‘Federer as Religious Experience’ (New York Times, August 20, 2006)” (nd), two-page manuscript

12938427463_8971e3f00c_z

Porcelain works by Shio Kusaka (all 2013)

12938791095_ee040ff19c_z

Ben Kinmont, “Rubber stamp used for the making of Shhhh [Chatou, 2002–03]; item 21.90.02.188 from the Antinomian Press Archive” (1990–)

12938740594_6346e5763f_z

Zeo Leonard’s “945 Madison Avenue” (2014) camera obscura

The 2014 Whitney Biennial opens Friday, March 7 at the Whitney Museum (945 Madison Avenue, Upper East Side, Manhattan) and continues until May 25.

Hrag Vartanian is editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic.

4 replies on “Whitney Biennial 2014: Michelle Grabner on the Fourth Floor”

Comments are closed.