The 2026 edition of the Whitney Biennial, the premier recurring art exhibition in the United States, officially has its curators: Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer, both of whom are on the in-house curatorial team of the Whitney Museum, the show’s organizer.
Guerrero, the first curator with a specified focus on Latinx art ever to work at the Whitney, has organized a range of acclaimed shows for the museum, including surveys dedicated to Puerto Rican art after Hurricane Maria and Mexican muralism’s impact on American art. She is currently at work on “Shifting Landscapes,” a show featuring works from the Whitney’s collection that deal with how artists conceive of worlds both real and imagined.
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Sawyer, who was hired last year as a photography curator, is readying a solo show for Mark Armijo McKnight that is due to open this month. Prior to the Whitney, he worked at the Brooklyn Museum, where he recently organized an expansive exhibition about zine culture and a retrospective for late photograph Jimmy De Sana.
The two will now be charged with providing a survey of the American art scene as it stands now. Because the Whitney Biennial is founded upon that ambitious premise, it is closely watched—and frequently controversial, polarizing critics and artists alike.
This year’s edition, curated by Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli, has likewise been divisive. Though praised by certain outlets, including ARTnews and Art in America, others have claimed the show is overly safe.
“As the 2024 Biennial draws to a close, we’re delighted to pass the baton to another superb team of Whitney curators in anticipation of the 2026 edition,” Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s director, said in a statement. “As much as the Biennial is a showcase of current artistic talents, it is also a platform for visionary curators like Marcela and Drew.”