The New Museum launched its third Triennial last night with a jam-packed opening party, bringing together the work of 51 early-career artists, from more than 25 different countries, for a "predictive" survey of the ways today's art anticipate tomorrow's social culture. In other words: the future is already here. Come have a look around.
The theme of the Triennial this time around is Surround Audience, playing on how our hyper-connected world promises (and sometimes even delivers) both unprecedented freedom and unlimited access even as it attacks our individual sense of self.
Can we opt out? Should we even want to? And how does all of this effect our relationships (both intimate and societal), our ambitions and expectations, and even how we think about our physical bodies?
(Scott Lynch / Gothamist)
The works in Surround Audience mash up and cut across all mediums—there's even some poetry, and a number of performance pieces—and the exhibition fills every available space throughout the entire building. As you can imagine, with this much art sprawling over this much museum, your reactions to each work will probably vary pretty wildly as you wander through the galleries.
Personally I thought the show overall was wonderfully engaging (even with the insane crowds that were there last night; I definitely need to hit this again when things quiet down a bit), with a hefty percentage of the pieces feeling remarkably fresh, provocative, and even genuinely thrilling at times.
The New Museum Triennial: Surround Audience will run through May 24, 2105. And remember: Thursday nights at the New Museum are pay-what-you-wish, and it almost never gets as crowded as, say, MoMA, or the Guggenheim, during the free hours.
