Whitney Biennial 2010

Whitney Biennial Preview Invitation
2010

The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser-known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

The Whitney Biennial is the longest-running survey of American art and has been a hallmark of the Museum since 1932. Initiated by the Museum's founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney as an invitational exhibition featuring artwork created in the preceding two years, the biennials were originally organized by medium, with painting alternating with sculpture and works on paper. Starting in 1937, the Museum shifted to yearly exhibitions called Annuals. The current format—a survey show of work in all media occurring every two years—has been in place since 1973. More than 3,600 artists have participated in a biennial or annual.

A select group of collectors and art lovers are among the first to see the much anticipated Whitney Biennials at an exclusive preview hosted by Sotheby’s specialists and the Whitney directors.

The 2010 Biennial marked the 75th edition of the Whitney Museum’s signature exhibition. While Biennials are always affected by the cultural, political, and social moment, this exhibition “simply titled 2010” embodies a cross-section of contemporary art production rather than a specific theme. To underscore the idea of time as an element of the Biennial and to demonstrate the influence of the past on 2010, familiar and less well-known artists from previous exhibitions are brought together in Collecting Biennials, an accompanying installation drawn from the Museum’s collection. Balancing different media ranging from painting and sculpture to video, photography, performance, and installation, 2010 also serves as a two-way telescope through which the Whitney Museum’s past and future can be observed. This brief served as the inspiration for the design of the 2010 invitation.

Client: Whitney Museum of American Art, and Sotheby’s; Designer & Art Director: Beth Lin Garland; Creative Director: Sandra Burch; Event Managers: Michael Moore, and Courtney Smith; Marketing Director: Amy Todd Middleton;  Production Manager: Sotheby’s - Spire Richard Walton; Printer: Phoenix Lithography Keith Harrington; Award: Graphis Design Annual (2012) Gold Award