This week MoMA PS1 presents “Greater New York,” a sprawling, building-wide exhibition that takes place every five years and has traditionally featured work by New York’s most prominent emerging artists. This year, recognizing that the art world is, in fact, a multi-generational community, the show departs from the traditional focus on youth to “examine points of connection and tension between our desire for the new and nostalgia for that which it displaces.” In other words, plenty of interesting, influential old(er) folks who weren’t deemed important enough at earlier points in their careers are included on the roster this time around.
[Image: Howardena Pindell, Untitled #4, 1973, mixed media on paper mounted to a board, 10 x 8 inches]
From the press release:
“Greater New York” arrives in a city and art community that has changed significantly since the first version of the survey. With the rise of a robust commercial art market and the proliferation of art fairs, opportunities for younger artists in the city have grown alongside a burgeoning interest in artists who may have been overlooked in the art histories of their time. Concurrently, the city itself is being reshaped by a voracious real estate market that poses particular challenges to local artists. The speed of this change in recent years has stoked a nostalgia for earlier periods in New York � notably the 1970s and 1980s, and the experimental practices and attitudes that flourished in the city during those decades.
Against this backdrop, “Greater New York” departs from the show�s traditional focus on youth, instead examining points of connection and tension between our desire for the new and nostalgia for that which it displaces. Bringing together emerging and more established artists, the exhibition occupies MoMA PS1�s entire building with over 400 works by 157 artists, including programs of film and performance….
Considering the �greater� aspect of its title in terms of both geography and time, “Greater New York” begins roughly with the moment when MoMA PS1 was founded in 1976 as an alternative venue that took advantage of disused real estate, reaching back to artists who engaged the margins of the city. Together, the works in the exhibition employ a heterogeneous range of aesthetic strategies, often emphatically representing the city�s inhabitants through forms of bold figuration, and foregrounding New York itself as a location of conflict and possibility.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS (NOTE: + denotes participant in the Film Program; * denotes participant in the Performance Program ): Charlie Ahearn (b. 1951)+ / John Ahearn (b. 1951) / Chantal Akerman (b. 1950)+ / Sam Anders on (b. 1982) / Richard Artschwager (1923 – 2013) / Robert Ashley (1930 – 2014)* / Charles Atlas (b. 1949) / Lutz Bacher (born in the USA) / Fia Backstr�m (b. 1970) / Alvin Baltrop (1948 – 2004) / Rina Banerjee (b. 1963) / Morgan Bassichis (b. 1983)* / Kevin Beasley (b. 1985) / Gina Beavers (b. 1974) / Gelsey Bell (b. 1982)* / Michael Bell – Smith (b. 1978) / Sadie Benning (b. 1973) / Huma Bhabha (b. 1962) / Dara Birnbaum (b. 1946)+ / Mel Bochner (b. 1940) / Robert Moskowitz (b. 1935)+ / Lizzie Borden (b. 1958)+ / Robert Bordo (b. 1949)/ Gregg Bordowitz (b. 1964)+ / Liene Bosqu� (b. 1980) / Amy Brener (b. 1982) / Ben Thorp Brown (b. 1983) / Rudy Burckhardt (1914 – 1999)+ / Harry Burke (b. 1990)* / Scott Burton (1939 – 1989) / Abigail Child (b. 1948)+ / Susan Cianciolo (b. 1969) / Shirley Clark e (1919 – 1997) + / Todd Colby (b. 1962)* / Roy Colmer (1935 – 2014) / Sara Cwynar (b. 1985) / Mira Dancy (b. 1979) / Jaime Davidovich (b. 1936)+ / Jimmy DeSana (1950 – 1990) / Vivienne Dick (b. 1950) + / Andrew Durbin (b. 1989)* / Diego Echeverr � a (b. 1946)+ / Terry Fox (1958 – 1981)+ / Su Friedrich (b. 1954)+ / Eckh aus Latta (founded 2011) / Mary Beth Edelson (b. 1933) / Gregory Edwards (b. 1981) / Joy Episalla (b. 1960) / Loretta Fahrenholz (b. 1981) / Ben Fama (b.1982)* / fierce pussy (founded 1991) / John Finneran (b. 1979) / Henry Flynt (b. 1940) / Jeffrey Gibson (b. 1972) / John Giorno (b. 1936)* / Ignacio Gonz� ez – Lang (b. 1975) / William Greaves (1926 – 2014)+ / Jonah Groeneboer (b. 1978)* / Red Grooms (b. 1937) / David Grubbs (b. 1967)* / David Hammons (b. 1943) / Fanny Howe (b. 1940)* / Katherine Hubbard (b. 1981) / Peter Hutton (b. 1944)+ / Elizabeth Jaeger (b. 1988) / Ken Jacobs (b. 1933)+ Paolo Javier (b. 1974)* / Joan Jonas (b. 1936)+ / Jamian Juliano – Villani (b. 1987) / Angie Keefer (b. 1977) / Devin Kenny (b. 1987) / Eli Keszler (b. 1983)* / Christine Sun Kim (b. 1980) / KIOSK (founded 2005) / Manfred Kirchheimer (b. 1931)+ / Ajay Kurian (b. 1984) / Robert Kushner (b. 1949) / M. Lamar (b. 1984)* / Louise Lawler (b. 1947) / Deana Lawson (b. 1979) / Sophia Le Fraga (b. 1990)* / Barry Le Va (b. 1941) / Okkyung Lee (b. 1975)* / Simone Leigh (b. 1968) / Zoe Leonard (b. 1961) / Nancy Brooks Brody (b. 1962)+ / Glenn Ligon (b. 1960) / Tan Lin (b. 1957)* / Eric Mack (b. 1987) / Tony Matelli (b. 1971) / Gordon Matta – Clark (1943 – 1978) / Lionel Maunz (b. 1976) / Park McArthur (b. 1984) / Adam McEwen (b. 1965) / Marie Menken (1909 – 1970)+ / Wardell Milan (b. 1978) / Ieva Misevi?i?t? (b. 1982)* / Rashaun Mitchell (b. 1978) / Silas Riener (b. 1983)* / Yoshiaki Mochizuki (b. 1961) / Donald Moffett (b. 1955) / James Nares (b. 1953) / Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts – New York (founded 2011) / Raul de Nieves (b. 1983) / V�r�na Paravel (b. 1971) / J.P. Sniadecki (b. 1979)+ / Morgan Parker (b. 1987)* / Rebecca Patek (b. 1980)* / Sondra Perry (b. 1986) / Pharmakon (b. 1990)* / Howardena Pindell (b. 1943) / Seth Price (b. 1973) / Yvonne Rainer (b. 1934)+ / Will Rawls (b. 1978)* / Nick Relph (b. 1979 ) / Joyce Robins (b. 1944) / Bunny Rogers (b. 1990)* / Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964) / Cameron Rowland (b. 1988) / Jen Rosenblit (b. 1983)* / Peter Saul (b. 1934) / Collier Schorr (b. 1963) / Nancy Shaver (b. 1946) / Judith Shea (b. 1948) / Gedi Sibony (b. 1973) / Hayley Silverman ( b. 1986) / Charles Simonds (b. 1970)+ / Lorna Simpson (b. 1960) / Rosalind Fox Solomon (b. 1930) / Jack Smith (1932 – 1989)+ / Kiki Smith (b. 1954) / Greg Parma Smith (b. 1983) / Slow and Steady Wins the Race (founded 2001) / Nelson Sullivan (1948 – 1989) / Sergei Tcherepnin ( b. 1981) / Third World Newsreel (founded 1967)+ / Stewart Uoo (b. 1985) / Stefanie Victor (b. 1982) / William Villalongo (b. 1975) / Keith Fullerton Whitman (b. 1973)* / Sue Williams (b. 1954) / Lebbeus Woods (1940 – 2012) / Nathan Donavon Wooley (b. 1974)* / Geo Wyeth (b. 19 84)* / Carrie Yamaoka (b. 1957) / C. Spencer Yeh (b. 1975)* +
“Greater New York,” Organized by a team led by Peter Eleey, Curator and Associate Director of Exhibitions and Programs, MoMA PS1; and including art historian Douglas Crimp, University of Rochester; Thomas J. Lax, Associate Curator, Department of Media and Performance Art, MoMA; and Mia Locks, Assistant Curator, MoMA PS1. MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens, NY. October 11, 2015 � March 7, 2016.
Related posts:
2014 Whitney Biennial: Curators’ statements, painting links
Greater New York online preview (2010)
——
Two Coats of Paint is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To use content beyond the scope of this license, permission is required.
