As a prelude, counterpoint, and coda to the Biennial, the Museum’s fifth floor is devoted to artists in the Whitney’s collection whose works were shown in Biennials over the past eight decades.

By News Editor 17 Mar 2010

Collecting Biennials, opening on January 16, is installed as a kind of historical survey within the Biennial, underscoring the importance of previous Biennial exhibitions in the Museum’s history and the formation of its collection. Work by one of the artists in 2010, George Condo, is included in the mix. Collecting Biennials begins nearly six weeks before the rest of the Biennial and remains on view until November 2010.

The following artists are included in Collecting Biennials: Kenneth Anger, Richard Artschwager, Milton Avery, Matthew Barney, Ashley Bickerton, Peter Blume, Lee Bontecou, Louise Bourgeois, Vija Celmins, Larry Clark, Anne Collier, George Condo, Bruce Conner, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Llyn Foulkes, Jared French, Robert Gober, Stephen Greene, Philip Guston, David Hammons, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Duane Hanson, Alex Hay, Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, Mike Kelley, Barbara Kruger, Zoe Leonard, Sherrie Levine, Glenn Ligon, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Agnes Martin, Paul McCarthy, Allan McCollum, Bruce Nauman, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Raymond Pettibon, Charles Ray, Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha, David Salle, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Charles Simonds, George Tooker, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Franklin C. Watkins, and Sue Williams.<br />

Collecting Biennials was organized by 2010 curator Francesco Bonami and associate curator Gary Carrion-Murayari.