Trends in Contemporary Art

Inspired by conversations with Lisi Stoessel.

I'm struck that in both the Gabriel Orozco and Roni Horn Exhibitions I saw last month in NYC, and the 2009 Venice Biennial this summer, it seems the focus of the art has shifted more towards an experience, and process, more so than on a finished piece or a specific statement/concept.

Could we finally be embracing the idea that art, like all other natural processes, is always in flux. And that we are spotlighting the process of creating and the artist's thought process instead of a finished masterpiece.

The world is in an extremely trasitional place right now. Its all unstable and art is helping all of us come to terms with that. We feel lost and confused right now and don't know exactly why. We dont have a big message we need to scream out in our work. We are not rebelling or fighting, we are just trying to survive. Art offers an escape. Art offers an opportunity to connect with something. Art offers us the opportunity to have control over something. The process of making art is enough right now, it is an opportunity to meditate, or to forget, or to get lost in the creation of something that restores the sensation of control.

I'm curious to see if the upcoming Whitney Biennial presents a similar shift in focus...