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2019 Atlanta Biennial

Monday February 11, 2019 11:00 AM EST
Cost: Free

From the venue:

January 17, 2019 – April 7, 2019

This is not an exhibition from a hindered view obstructed by glass, but a view forged by a lasting commitment to go, look, and see. Art has never been confined to the realm of museums, galleries, artist studios, or any other dedicated spaces that collectively contain art. It is, indeed, the stuff of everyday life: images, words, renderings, sounds, and movements. When manipulated by a skilled artist, these elements convey some essential truths and speak to the human condition. In this exhibition, rowdy optimism and unswerving openness are on full display alongside rigid discipline and the universal need for connection. The artworks on view address a variety of political, social, economic, and personal realities, but in their collectivity are foremost about artists recapturing their future: combining their vision and abilities to construct something tangible and welcoming tomorrow, the day after, and many days after that.

The 2019 Atlanta Biennial presents works by twenty one artists from the region who are simultaneously engaged in both immediately local, regionally specific conversations and larger themes pervading our world. The boundaries of the Southeastern United States are not so easily delineated, and there is plenty of debate on exactly where qualifies as belonging to this somewhat nebulous, but still approximate, geographic region. For our purposes, the Southeast will be defined by the ten states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The full list of artists is as follows:

The American Music Show
On air 1981-2005
Atlanta, GA

Beverly Baker
Born Lexington, KY
Lives Lexington, KY

Robert Beatty
Born Lexington, KY
Lives Lexington, KY

Mary Ann Carroll
Born Sandersville, GA
Lives Fort Pierce, FL

Kevin Cole
Born Pine Bluff, AR
Lives Atlanta, GA

Jessie Dunahoo
Born St. Helen’s, KY
Lived St. Helen’s, KY

Joy Drury Cox
Born Atlanta, GA
Lives Durham, NC

Jill Frank
Born Louisville, KY
Lives Atlanta, GA

Mike Goodlett
Born Wilmore, KY
Lives Wilmore, KY

Alicia Henry
Born IL 
Lives Nashville, TN

John Isiah Walton
Born New Orleans, LA
Lives New Orleans, LA

Carol John
Born Camden, NJ
Lives Athens, GA

Joni Mabe
Born Cornelia, GA
Lives Athens, GA

Jiha Moon
Born Daegu, South Korea 
Lives Atlanta, GA

Alina Perez
Born Miami, FL
Lives Miami, FL

Amy Pleasant
Born Birmingham, AL
Lives Birmingham, AL

Jim Roche
Born Jackson County, FL
Lives Tallahassee, FL

Tom Scicluna
Born London, England
Lives Miami, FL

Matthew Shain
Born San Francisco, CA 
Lives New Orleans, LA

Aaron Skolnick
Born Burlington, KY
Lives Lexington, KY

Melvin Way
Born Ruffin, SC
Lives Ruffin, SC

Since its inception in 1985 the Atlanta Biennial has been an important platform for contemporary art from our region. The exhibition aims to address complexities and deep vernacular traditions of the Southeast. This exhibition continues the longstanding efforts of Atlanta Contemporary to present and debut newly commissioned work by artists from around our region. For the 2019 Atlanta Biennial, the curators will conduct studio visits in 10 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee – and will look high and low, over, under, and in-between to celebrate the most compelling, creative voices working around us today.

The 2019 Atlanta Biennial will be co-curated by Phillip March Jones, Curator-at-Large at Institute 193, Lexington and Daniel Fuller, Curator, Atlanta Contemporary.

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