Every two years the Whitney Museum of American Art presents its Biennial Exhibit. Featuring contemporary art created in the last two years, it is widely considered a snapshot of the state of American art. The first Biennial was in 1932. This is the 82nd Whitney Biennial (it was not always every two years).

This year’s Biennial is especially appropriate for the times we are living through in America. There are many works by immigrant artists. Other groups that have been marginalized by some in America, such as Native American and LGBTQ artists, are also well represented.

What I found particularly compelling about this year’s exhibit is some of the stories that went with the art. I tried to include short summaries of some of those stories as well as the ethnicity of the artists in my descriptions of the pieces below.

Offtheleash blog has been covering the Whitney Biennial since 2017. Posts from previous year’s exhibits are linked at the end.

Sun Twins by Raven Halfmoon, a member of the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma. She employees a coil technique that has been used by her ancestors for thousands of years.

Untitled (Self Portrait), Augusto Machado. A self-identified ‘street queen,’ helped preserve the works and of some of his peers for whom he acted as caregiver during the AIDS crisis in his native New York.

Beneath the Ruins, Kamrooz Aram, born in Iran, lives in New York

Our Gods Walk Among Us, Nani Chacon, Navajo Nation

Disperse, Sarah M. Rodriguez, born in Honolulu, lives in New Mexico. (Hudson River in the background.)

Requiem for the Insects, Oswaldo Macia, born in Columbia, lives in Santa Fe, NM, and London

Divine Dance of Soft Revolt, Young Joon Kwak. The pieces of this sculpture were cast from body parts of queer and trans people in Los Angeles.

A Wall That Plays Along, Taina H. Cruz. Paint stick drawing on wall.

Without Ground, Kimowan Metchewais, born in Oxbow, SK, Canada, Cree, Cold Lake First Nations

For a Just War Against America, Enzo Camacho (born in Manila, lives in Berlin ) and Ami Lien (born in Dallas, lives in New York).

These two videos are part of a three-panel video installation, Until we become the fire and fire us. By Basel Abbas (born in Cyprus, lives in Brooklyn) and Ruanne Abu-Rahme (born in Boston, lives in Brooklyn). The video is about Palestinian feelings of love and longing in the face of destruction of their communities.

Satan in America and Other Invisible Evils: Experiments in Public Sculptures (Witches 1-3), Isabelle Francis McGuire. Part of a series of sculptures depicting scenes from American history, this one being the Salem witch trials.

Monument (Altadena), Kelly Akashi. Monument to a 2025 fire in Altadena, Calif., that burned Akashi’s home and studio, leaving only a chimney standing.

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Biennial ‘24: The State of American Art

The Biennial is Back (2022)

My Biennial Favorites (2019)

Every Couple of Years at the Whitney (2017)