“Partial, relaxed, and idiosyncratic are not typically positive associations for large survey shows. But these have been multiplying recently, and perhaps that is why that most venerable of panoramas, the Whitney Biennial, finds itself relieved, a little, of its historical pretensions towards completeness. Any survey is just one of an infinite number that could have been, after all, but it’s rare that curators are secure enough to start with that knowledge rather than resort to it as an excuse after the fact. The 2012 Biennial is so blessed—Thomas Beard, Ed Halter, Jay Sanders, and Elisabeth Sussman are to blame—and the result is a wonderfully open, strange presentation. Other editions have contained a larger selection of more successful works, but I’ve never before left a biennial so keen to return, or found myself wishing that the Whitney weren’t quite so far away.
The chief reason is that so much of the work is spread out over the run of the show, appearing only at specific times. Thus, as you have perhaps heard, almost the entire fourth floor is given over to a large performance space to be inhabited by various artists in various ways. And if the show has a signature, then it is surely the decision to devote so much space to a shifting and inconclusive mandate. I have seen the space set up two ways now: covered over with large renderings of the Whitney’s architectural schematics for the opening, under beautiful theatrical light, and post-opening, even less embellished, with artists huddled in discussions on stadium seating—and both encounters have made lasting impressions. The Whitney, we are reminded, is a remarkable building, and, even without a performance in progress, sitting and watching other people enter, exit, and move around feels like a rare privilege. No one should complain if this becomes the standard for all future biennials; not only does it let the entire edifice breathe, but it elevates performance to its rightful place alongside the other media, giving young artists a space worthy of aspiring to, at the heart of something important.” Read full article…
(Via Art Agenda » Reviews.)