New Museum triennial

New Museum triennial
Name	New Museum triennial
Established	2009
Location	New York City
Venue	New Museum
Type	Contemporary art exhibition

New Museum triennial is a recurring contemporary art exhibition initiated by the New Museum in Manhattan, presenting emerging artists from around the world. Conceived as a platform for experimental practice, it operates within the contexts of global art networks such as the Venice Biennale, Documenta, and Whitney Biennial, and intersects institutional players including the Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and Centre Pompidou. The triennial has engaged curatorial figures associated with the Serpentine Galleries, Hayward Gallery, Hammer Museum, and cultural funders like the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

History

The exhibition was launched amid debates influenced by precedents like the Salon d'Automne, the Armory Show (1913), and the postwar trajectories of the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum. Its creation followed initiatives by curators who had worked at institutions including the Studio Museum in Harlem, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Walker Art Center. Early moments referenced curatorial models practiced at the Berlin Biennale, São Paulo Art Biennial, and the Frieze Art Fair, positioning the triennial within transnational circuits involving galleries such as Gagosian Gallery, David Zwirner, and White Cube.

Organization and Curation

Organizational leadership has connected directors and curators affiliated with Laurence R. Rockefeller-era philanthropy and contemporary patrons like the Sackler family. Curators drawn from institutions such as the New Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Institute of Contemporary Arts have overseen selection processes that engage advisory committees including representatives from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Time network, and university programs at Columbia University and Yale University. The curatorial remit dialogues with scholarship from scholars linked to Harvard University, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Pratt Institute, and often coordinates logistics with partners like the Brooklyn Museum and the Queens Museum.

Editions and Exhibitions

Each edition has been framed in relation to exhibitions elsewhere, invoking dialogues with the Berlin Biennale, the Venice Biennale, and the Gwangju Biennale. Notable editions curated by figures from the Serpentine Galleries and the Hammer Museum have referenced works shown previously at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Installations have included site-specific commissions evoking histories connected to Lower East Side neighborhoods and collaborations with institutions such as the Cooper Hewitt and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Touring programs have linked the triennial to international venues including the PALAZZO delle ESPOSIZIONI and the Kunsthalle Basel.

Artists and Works Featured

The roster of participating artists has included practitioners at similar stages to those shown at the Venice Biennale, such as artists represented by Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Perrotin, and those with residencies at institutions like the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Works have ranged from video pieces in dialogue with the Sundance Film Festival selection to sculptural projects resonant with commissions at the Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many participants later exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, the Kunstmuseum Basel, and the Hammer Museum.

Reception and Impact

Critical reception has been mediated by reviewers writing for outlets such as The New York Times, Artforum, Frieze (magazine), and Artnet, as well as by commentators from the Brooklyn Rail and the London Review of Books. The triennial has influenced collecting practices at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and private collections associated with patrons like Eli Broad and François Pinault. Scholarship in journals tied to Columbia University and exhibition catalogues published by the Museum of Modern Art have traced its impact on global curatorial strategies and on networks linking galleries like White Cube and David Zwirner.

Controversies and Criticism

The project has generated controversies paralleling disputes seen at the Whitney Biennial and the Venice Biennale, involving debates over representation, labor, and institutional accountability tied to patrons such as the Sackler family and to partnerships with corporations that echo patterns critiqued in cases at the Tate Modern and the Guggenheim Museum. Critics in publications like Artforum and The New York Times have questioned curatorial choices and transparency, while activist interventions referenced tactics used during protests at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art.

Category:Contemporary art exhibitions