William Whitney
William Whitney is a writer who lives and works in New York.
ZANELE MUHOLI:
Visual Activism & Performa 17
By William Whitney
Muholi speaks with missionary fervor, noting how important it is—especially in the divisive times that we find ourselves in—for her to put content out.
TERRY WINTERS:
Facts & Fictions
By William Whitney
Featuring seventy-eighty drawings spanning from the 1980s to the present, the exhibition examines Winters’s history, his belief in linking abstraction with the real world, and challenging the perceptions around the two. However, rather than presenting the drawings as a retrospective, Claire Gilman’s curation emphasizes the morphological relationships between the works across time.
AL TAYLOR:
What Are You Looking At?
By William Whitney
What Are You Looking At?—Al Taylor’s largest retrospective in the United States to date—confirms his reputation as an artist who does not cease to challenge his audience. The 150-piece exhibition explores and examines Taylor’s creative process: his love of rule breaking, appreciation of inexpensive materials, and his late-found belief in the importance of self-reliance.
BELKIS AYÓN:NKAME
By William WhitneyThe first emotion that hits upon entering NKAME is intrigue. Belkis Ayón died. She was 32. She killed herself.
NAOTAKA HIRO: Gibbous
By William WhitneyPatience is often spoken of casually, but, in fact, it is a hard skill to master. In Gibbous, his fourth show at Brennan & Griffin, Naotaka Hiro has seemingly done just that. In making his latest works, Hiro lets his mind wander, exploring different ideas as they appear, in a patient meditation.
Robert Grosvenor
By William WhitneyRobert Grosvenor’s latest exhibition at KARMA—his third with the gallery—continues the artist’s career-long exploration of materiality, visual perception, and minimalist aesthetics. Influenced early in his career by the works of Lucio Fontana and Piero Manzoni, Grosvenor creates sculptures that similarly challenge the boundaries between everyday objects and artistic materials.
Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving
By William WhitneyThe exhibition's focus is on how Kahlo became a global icon through art and fashion, and as such, it neglects Kahlo's role as a painter, with only 11 paintings featured in a show of over 300 objects.
Matt Mullican: Universal Perspective
By William WhitneyTogether, the two canvases continue Mullican’s career-long investigation into the ways isolated details can impact visual perception of the whole—or a micro version of the ways in which apparent minute factors can impact society as a whole.
NINA CHANEL ABNEY:
Safe House/Seized the Imagination
By William Whitney
The title of Nina Chanel Abney’s exhibition at Mary Boone, Safe House, caught my attention almost instantly. In such politically charged times, not making a statement is often a statement in itself.
MALICK SIDIBÉ:
Love Power Peace
By William Whitney
Love Power Peace (the title comes from a James Brown album) exemplifies Sidibé’s magic, showcasing never seen before photos in an exhibition that confirms his status as a cultural icon.
