Biennials and Beyond—Exhibitions That Made Art History: 1962–2002

This superbly produced companion volume to Altshuler’s Salon to Biennial: Exhibitions That Made Art History: 1863–1959 (2008) begins with the premise that installation photographs, catalogues, newspapers, and journals are vital documents of artistic and curatorial practice that need to be rescued from potential obscurity. Organized chronologically, the book showcases 25 seminal art exhibitions through archival photographs of artists, their art, and exhibition spaces alongside catalogue statements, exhibition materials, letters, and interviews from artists, including Jim Dine, Douglas Huebler, and Joseph Kosuth, as well as criticism from publications including Art in America, Artforum, Studio International, and Frieze. Highlights include the 1962 New Realists exhibit in New York, The Times Square Show in 1980, the 1989 China/Avant-Garde show in Beijing, and the criticism of Documenta 11. The informative introduction by editor and New York University museum studies professor Altshuler (The Avant-Garde in Exhibition) traces the growing interest in the history of art exhibitions and discusses turning points: in the 1960s, curators working in, or on behalf of, galleries and museums replaced artists as the main exhibition organizers; and in the last 20 years of the 20th century, African, Caribbean, and Asian artists expanded international exhibitions. This invaluable documentary history, including never-before published materials, will be of great interest to scholars and contemporary art enthusiasts. 400 color and 150 b&w illus. (Apr.)