Professor Kate Gilmore Exhibits in Whitney Biennial Feb 25-May 30

Kate Gilmore a professor from the Purchase College School of Art + Design is one of 55 artists selected by curator Francesco Bonami and associate curator Gary Carrion-Murayari to participate in the Whitney Biennial, 2010.

The exhibition is the Whitney Museum’s “signature survey of the latest in American art” and takes place February 25 to May 3 filling nearly the entire Museum.  It is the 75^th in the ongoing series of Biennials and Annuals presented by the Whitney since 1932, two years after the Museum was founded.

Mr. Bonami calls Biennials “a bridge to the future,” and notes the exhibit “reflects the way art is shaped by the particular historical moment when it was created.  The artists selected for this year’s exhibition reflect diverse responses to the anxiety and optimism of the past two years.”

The Biennial includes a blend of well established artists together with a large number of emerging artists from all over the country.  Each artist presents one work and their contributions range from film and video to photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, performance and architecture.  The works reflect individual gestures, personal histories, and improvised encounters that speak to a sense of openness and community.

Kate Gilmore’s newly created piece for the exhibition is comprised of a large-scale sculpture/installation and a projected video.  It was made on site and the video was shot at the museum.

The work consists of a tall column made of sheetrock which she climbs up by kicking and punching foot holes into the interior walls, revealing splashes of bright yellow paint with each puncture.  The outcome is unknown before this one-time-only performance, which is straightforwardly shot in one take.  This work, like her past work, uses physical metaphors for present day-conflicts and social obstacles. 

Ms. Gilmore’s artwork will be displayed on the third floor of the museum in the film and video section.

A native of Washington DC, Ms. Gilmore earned her undergraduate degree at Bates College and her MFA at the School of Visual Arts in NY.  She has had numerous solo exhibitions in New York, California, Miami, Pennsylvania, Texas, Italy, Spain, and her work is in the collections of MoMa, the Brooklyn Museum as well as collections in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Kate Gilmore plays the central character in all her works and is “appropriately” dressed in shifts and pumps and tidy straight hair.  As a video artist she constructs obstacles, such as plaster walls, and overcomes Herculean tasks to create her art. 

The Whitney Museum is located at 945 Madison Ave., NY.