‘The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial’ opens at The Heckscher Museum

‘The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial’ opens at The Heckscher Museum

From now through Jan. 19, 2025, The Heckscher Museum of Art will present the The Body Politic: Long Island Biennial, a prestigious juried exhibition featuring works by contemporary artists from across Long Island. The Museum received 762 artwork submissions from 313 artists. For this year’s edition, the applicants were tasked with submitting work that engaged with contemporary social, cultural, or political issues. The result is a compelling museum-wide exhibition that features seventy-nine works of art accepted by 60 artists.  The artists chosen represents the breadth of communities across Suffolk and Nassau counties stretching from Floral Park to Montauk.

The exhibition encompasses a remarkable variety of media, with styles spanning abstraction to hyperrealism, including sculpture, painting, photography and more. “We remain committed to sharing inspiring and thought-provoking new art with our visitors.” said Heather Arnet, Executive Director & CEO. “The Body Politic will resonate with the entire community given the diversity in artists and the universality of the important themes in their work.”

Now in its eighth edition, the 2024 Long Island Biennial is curated by Meredith A. Brown, consulting curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum. The art was selected by jurors Ian Alteveer, Beal Family Chair of the Department of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Patricia Cronin, sculptor, Artistic Director of the LGBTQ+ VR Museum and Distinguished Professor of Art, Brooklyn College; and Grace Hong, Assistant Director, Galerie Lelong & Co. 

“There was artwork submitted addressing every theme you could think of: homelessness, addiction, immigration, global warming, voting rights, civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and different on-going war,” said Cronin. “It was impressive and inspiring to learn how deeply Long Island artists really care about the world right now and express it in their art.”

“I was very impressed with quality of submissions, the artistic formal quality and passionate commitment to various social issues. I always love being a juror. You get to take the real pulse of an artistic community. What is important to the artists at any given time is usually the bellwether for society at large. Artists tend to focus on issues sooner than the general population,” said Cronin.

“I was impressed by the breadth of subjects and media presented in the submissions and had an enjoyable time reviewing them. Politics and systems of power on both an international and domestic level stood out to me, as did personal and often humorous takes on American politics. The Heckscher Museum of Art’s commitment to its community celebrates the people it serves while allowing a rare glimpse for art lovers everywhere into the practice and perspective of a living artist based in the region,” said Hong. 

“It is so important to have a Long Island Biennial so the general population can come to the museum and be inspired about the world they live in. Art has the capacity to inspire reflection, thought, feeling, and dreams about the human condition, ones we are already living or the potential for the future,” added Cronin.

Visitors will also be treated to a diverse program of events to coincide with the exhibition. Several Long Island Biennial artists will be in the galleries on select Sundays throughout the exhibition, as well as participating in the Huntington Art Walk, Lunar New Year, and other cultural and community events. Visit Heckscher.org for the full schedule.

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