List of Whitney Biennial artists


This is an incomplete list of Whitney Biennial artists selected for the Whitney Biennial exhibitions of contemporary American art, at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973. The Whitney show is generally regarded as one of the leading shows in the art world, often setting or leading trends in contemporary art.

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

2000

The curators were Whitney museum director Maxwell L. Anderson, Michael Auping, Valerie Cassel, Hugh M. Davies, Jane Farver, Andrea Miller-Keller, and Lawrence R. Rinder.

2002

2004

The curators were Chrissie Iles, Shamim M. Momin, Debra Singer.

2006

The 73rd Whitney Biennial. The curators were Philippe Vergne and Chrissie Iles.

2008

The 74th Whitney Biennial.

2010

The 75th Whitney Biennial/Annual ran February 25 to May 30, 2010. The curators were Francesco Bonami and associate Gary Carrion-Murayari.

2012

The 76th Whitney Biennial/Annual ran March 1 through May 27, 2012. It was curated by Elisabeth Sussman and Jay Sanders. They co-curated the film program with Thomas Beard and Ed Halter, co-founders of Light Industry, a venue for film and electronic art in Brooklyn.

2014

The 77th Whitney Biennial was on view March 7 through May 25, 2014. The exhibition was curated by Stuart Comer, Anthony Elms, and Michelle Grabner.

2017

The 2017 Biennial is the first to take place in the museum's much larger new location in the Meatpacking District. With 63 participants the exhibition runs from March 17 until June 11, and is co-curated by Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks.

2019

The Biennial participating artists were announced in February 2019. Curated by Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta, the show is open from May 17th to September 22nd, 2019. One artist, Michael Rakowitz, turned down the invitation to participate in response to the presence of the Whitney’s vice chair at the time, Warren Kanders, CEO of Safariland. In mid-July 2019, eight artists requested for their work to be withdrawn from the 2019 Whitney Biennial in response to additional concerns over Safariland's manufacturing of tear gas and police equipment. Kanders resigned from his position on the board July 25th, 2019.