Taking America's Temperature: The Whitney Biennial

Since 1932, the Whitney Biennial in New York has been the great barometer of contemporary American art — and, often, a lightning rod for controversy. Its 2022 edition, titled 'Quiet as It's Kept', arrived after a stretch of pandemic, protest and political upheaval.

Curators gave artists room to breathe, with airy galleries and a reflective, sometimes sombre tone, spanning painting, sculpture, film and sound from across the country.

Loved by some, criticised by others, the Biennial does what it always has: spark argument about where American art — and America — is heading.

Image: “Whitney Museum of American Art (49051573133)” — Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.