America Grows Artists

Takako Yamaguchi, Parade, 2022, oil and metal leaf on canvas, 60 × 40".

As you may know, the latest Whitney Biennial has just opened in New York, greeted with the usual mixture of critical acclaim and complaint. If you’re not able to see the show in person, take a look online. The theme is topical, as the title suggests. “Even Better Than the Real Thing” explores the question of what is real in the age of artificial intelligence and the fluidity of identity.

What caught my eye this time was not so much the show itself, but the background of the artists. Hyperallergic, the Brooklyn-based online journal, has compiled new statistics that confirm the geographical bias of this prestigious exhibition. Over forty percent of the artists are based in New York or Los Angeles, and all but 10 (out of 71) live in coastal states. 

What does this mean? Is the best art being made only on the two coasts? Absolutely not. Remarkable art is created everywhere, as you can see in regional museums and galleries and artist studios across the country. The geographical focus of the Whitney Biennial just reminds us that webs of connection in major cities create networks that launch artists.

Yet when we dig deeper into the backgrounds of these artists we find that they grew their careers in smaller venues across the country. Nobody begins with a solo show at MOMA. For example, Takako Yamaguchi’s first exhibitions were at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, the Museum of Art in San Jose, and the Nevada Museum in Reno, a long path that led her to be selected for the Whitney Biennial. 

This one example, among many, illustrates the point:  America grows its artists. The country provides multiple venues where any artist can begin the process of launching a career. What’s your next step?