William Whitney

William Whitney is a writer who lives and works in New York.

Together, 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.
Matt Mullican, Five Worlds Sign, 2020. Acrylic and oil stick rubbing on canvas, in two parts, each: 78 3/4 x 78 3/4 inches. Courtesy the artist and Peter Freeman, Inc. Photo: Nicholas Knight.
Robert 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.
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled, 2020. Wood, paint, aluminum, 6 x 24 x 3 inches. Courtesy the artist and Karma, New York.
The 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.
Nickolas Muray, Frida in New York, 1946 (printed 2006). Carbon pigment print, 14 x 11 inches. © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives. Photo: Brooklyn Museum.
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.
Malick Sidibé, Arrivée de la voiture des mariés devant lamairie 15 Octobre 1970, 1970-2008. Gelatin silver print, 13 1/8 x 13 3/8 inches, signed, titled, and dated on front. Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery.
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.
Installation view of Terry Winters: Facts and Fictions. The Drawing Center, New York, 2018. Photo: Martin Parsekian.
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.
Al Taylor, Pet Stain Removal Device, 1989, bamboo garden stakes, Plexiglas, paint, wire, and electrical tape. The Estate of Al Taylor, Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London.
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.
Nina Chanel Abney, In the Land Without Feelings, 2017. Acrylic on canvas, 86 x 72. © Nina Chanel Abney. Courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery and Mary Boone Gallery, New York.
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.
City Point Installation view of Sebenzile, Parktown, 2016 © Zanele Muholi. Courtesy of Stevenson, Cape Town/Johannesburg and Yancey Richardson, New York
Patience 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.
Naotaka Hiro, Gibbous, 2017. Bronze, steel and stainless steel 72 x 32 x 24 inches. Edition of 2. Courtesy Brennan & Griffin, New York.
The first emotion that hits upon entering NKAME is intrigue. Belkis Ayón died. She was 32. She killed herself.
Belkis Ayón, Mi alma y yo te queremos (My soul and I love you), collagraph. 1993

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