Whitney Biennial 2008 Artists

So here is it... 

The list that people wait for every two years, the list that people will be angry about, and the list where "I can't believe he/she made it" will be gossiped about by young artists. 

The youngest this year is Rashawn Griffin (1980), a young black Yale grad that was probably suggested by Thelma Golden. I think he really needs to make something great for this show because thus far this young artist hasn't done anything to merit the Biennial.

While I was going down the list, the first artist that I thought might be sleeping with one of the curators was Joe Bradley cause this guys work is fucking awful. He shows at a trendy gallery  (Canada), but please, how could this be important some of the most important work in the art world today?

Joe Bradley's awful work (but wait, saatchi bought it so it must be worthy of the Whitney Biennial)

Then we have Gardar Eide Einarsson, who I actually like, but just because he's the cool kid that has cool friends, the kinda kid that would skip school and smoke weed (also I think he's a skater, and who doesn't love a skater). Also, he shows at Team Gallery, which has another artist in the Biennial (Carol Bove). But he's in it a few years too late, he should've been in it when his buddies Banks Violette and Terence Koh were in it, but I guess Shamim is spreading out her Goth boys so that she can later curate the project room with another black and white artist that she can write the catalogue for. I think Ms. Momin just likes to have these young coked up kids that are renegades or seemingly renegade around to improve her social life. I hope Gardar makes a sculpture for the show, cause I'm tired of seeing the wall pieces.

Then we have two artist from The Core Program, William Cordova, and Leslie Hewitt (she's not there now, but was there last year). These two artist knew each other at Yale (2004), and have both had some buzz around them. BTW, I've always wondered how Cordova got into the Studio Museum Residency even though he's not black? Anyway, Hewitt has been a break out star, and I'm still trying to figure out her work, she is a young black artist who has torn her way through the art world since she left Yale. For awhile it felt like every time I went to a show, she had a piece in it, but they were never enough to make me really understand why everyone loves her so much. I think this is another Thelma Golden Suggestion, along with Cordova. I kinda feel the same way about these 2 as I do about Griffin, they need to make something to merit the Biennial. I have more faith in Hewitt than Cordova to make something interesting.

Matthew Brannon... snoozer... how this guy got this far is beyond me

Some of the artist I look forward to seeing are:

Rachel Harrison (she's influenced so many young artists)(I'll blog about her later)
Roe Ethridge (so many artist copy this guy)
Coco Fusco (hard core)
John Baldessari (old school, but great)
Jason Rhoades (this is an homage)

NOW... for the "Painters"... it's funny how painting always serves as a backdrop for the Biennial, most of the year every fucking review is about painting, and that's how most galleries pay the bills, which usually leads to the Art Market success of an artist, which then leads them to be "doing so well" which then gets them into the Saatchi Collection, which then gets them into the Triumph of Painting, which then gets them into the Biennial... anyway, I'm not sure who's who in this years show, but Karen Kilimnik is always a crowd pleaser. I'm so glad that young painters selling for hundreds of thousands like Kristen Baker, Kehinde Wiley, Jules de Balincourt, Dana Schutz, and some of the other "big sellers" never make the cut for the Biennial, it goes to show that sales don't equate to important art. 

So... here is the full list... I'll probably touch on more of these artist in the near future. But CONGRATS to all the artist that truly deserve the recognition, and the ones that will use the opportunity to truly impress and engage the art community.

These are the artists selected for the 2008 Whitney Biennial:

Rita Ackermann Born 1968 in Budapest, Hungary, Lives in New York, New York
Natalia Almada Born 1974 in Mexico, Lives in Mexico City, Mexico and New York, New York
Edgar Arceneaux Born 1972 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Fia Backström Born 1970 in Stockholm, Sweden, Lives in New York, New York
John Baldessari Born 1931 in National City, California, Lives in Santa Monica, California
Robert Bechtle Born 1932 in San Francisco, California, Lives in San Francisco, California
Walead Beshty Born 1976 in London, England, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Carol Bove Born 1971 in Geneva, Switzerland, Lives in New York, New York
Joe Bradley Born 1975 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Lives in New York, New York
Matthew Brannon, Born 1971 in Saint Maries, Idaho, Lives in New York, New York
Bozidar Brazda Born 1972 in Cambridge, Canada, Lives in New York, New York
Olaf Breuning, Born 1970 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Lives in New York, New York
Jedediah Caesar, Born 1973 in Oakland, California. Lives in Los Angeles, California
William Cordova Born 1971 in Lima, Peru, Lives in Houston, Texas and Miami, Florida
Dexter Sinister Stuart Bailey, Born 1973 in York, England, David Reinfurt, Born 1971 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Based in New York, New York
Harry (Harriet) Dodge and Stanya Kahn Born 1966 and 1968, respectively, in San Francisco, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Shannon Ebner Born 1971 in Englewood, New Jersey, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Gardar Eide Einarsson Born 1976 in Oslo, Norway, Lives in New York, New York
Roe Ethridge Born 1969 in Miami, Florida, Lives in New York, New York
Kevin Jerome Everson Born 1965 in Mansfield, Ohio, Lives in Charlottesville, Virginia
Omer Fast Born 1972 in Jerusalem, Israel, Lives in Berlin, Germany
Robert Fenz Born 1969 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Coco Fusco Born 1960 in New York, New York, Lives in New York, New York
Gang Gang Dance Lizzi Bougatsos, Brian DeGraw, Tim DeWit, Josh Diamond, Nathan Maddox, Founded 2001-02 in New York, New York, Based in New York, New York
Amy Granat and Drew Heitzler Born 1976 in St. Louis, Missouri, and born 1972 in Charleston, South Carolina, respectively, Live in New York, NY, and Los Angeles, California, respectively
Rashawn Griffin Born 1980 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in New York, New York
Adler Guerrier Born 1975 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Lives in Miami, Florida
MK Guth Born 1963 in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Lives in Portland, Oregon
Fritz Haeg Born 1969 in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Rachel Harrison Born 1966 in New York, New York, Lives in New York, New York
Ellen Harvey Born 1967 in Kent, England, Lives in New York, New York
Mary Heilmann Born 1940 in San Francisco, California, Lives in New York, New York
Leslie Hewitt Born 1977 in New York, New York, Lives in New York, New York and Houston, Texas
Patrick Hill Born 1972 in Royal Oak, Michigan, Lives in Los Angeles, California
William E. Jones Born 1962 in Canton, Ohio, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Karen Kilimnik Born 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alice Könitz Born 1970 in Essen, Germany, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Louise Lawler Born 1947 in Bronxville, New York, Lives in New York, New York
Spike Lee Born 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia, Lives in New York, New York
Sherrie Levine Born 1947 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and New York, New York
Charles Long Born 1958 in Long Branch, New Jersey, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Lucky Dragons Luke Fischbeck born 1978 in San Francisco, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Daniel Joseph Martinez Born 1957 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Corey McCorkle Born 1969 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Lives in New York, New York
Rodney McMillian Born 1969 in Columbia, South Carolina, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Julia Meltzer and David Thorne Born 1968 in Hollywood, California, and born 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Jennifer Montgomery Born 1961 in New York, New York, Lives in Chicago, Illinois
Olivier Mosset Born 1944 in Bern, Switzerland, Lives in Tucson, Arizona
Matt Mullican Born 1951 in Santa Monica, California, Lives in New York, New York
Neighborhood Public Radio (NPR) Formed 2004 in Oakland, California, Based in Oakland, San Francisco, and San Diego, California, and Chicago, Illinois
Ruben Ochoa Born 1974 in Oceanside, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
DJ Olive Born 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts, Lives in New York, New York
Mitzi Pederson Born 1976 in Stuart, Florida, Lives in San Francisco, California
Kembra Pfahler/The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black Born 1961 in Hermosa Beach, California, Lives in New York, New York
Seth Price Born 1973 in East Jerusalem, Lives in New York, New York
Stephen Prina Born 1954 in Galesburg, Illinois, Lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, California
Adam Putnam Born 1973 in New York, New York, Lives in New York, New York
Michael Queenland Born 1970 in Pasadena, California, Lives in New York, New York
Jason Rhoades Born 1965, Newcastle, California, Died 2006, Los Angeles, California
Ry Rocklen Born 1978 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Bert Rodriguez Born 1975 in Miami, Florida, Lives in Miami, Florida
Marina Rosenfeld Born 1968 in New York, New York, Lives in New York, New York
Amanda Ross-Ho Born 1975 in Chicago, Illinois, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Mika Rottenberg Born 1976 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lives in New York, New York
Heather Rowe Born 1970 in New Haven, Connecticut, Lives in New York, New York
Eduardo Sarabia Born 1976 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Berlin, Germany
Melanie Schiff Born 1977 in Chicago, Illinois, Lives in Chicago, Illinois
Amie Siegel Born 1974 in Chicago, Illinois, Lives in New York, New York and Berlin, Germany
Lisa Sigal Born 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lives in New York, New York
Gretchen Skogerson Born 1970 in Teaneck, New Jersey, Lives in New York, New York
Michael Smith Born 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, Lives in New York, New York and Austin, Texas
Agathe Snow Born 1976 in Corsica, France, Lives in New York, New York
Frances Stark Born 1967 in Newport Beach, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Mika Tajima/New Humans Mika Tajima, Born 1975 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in New York, New York
Howie Chen Born 1976 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Lives in New York, New York
Javier Téllez Born 1969 in Valencia, Venezuela, Lives in New York, New York
Cheyney Thompson Born 1975 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lives in New York, New York
Mungo Thomson Born 1969 in Woodland, California, Lives in Berlin, Germany and Los Angeles, California
Leslie Thornton Born 1951 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Lives in New York, New York
Phoebe Washburn Born 1973 in Poughkeepsie, New York, Lives in New York, New York
James Welling Born 1951 in Hartford, Connecticut, Lives in Los Angeles, California
Mario Ybarra, Jr. Born 1973 in Los Angeles, California, Lives in Los Angeles, California