WHITNEY BRANCH AT ALTRIA CLOSES ON JANUARY 29
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NEW YORK, January 23, 2008 -- For 25 years, the Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria, located at 120 Park Avenue at 42nd Street, has occupied a unique niche in New York’s art scene, presenting exciting new work by contemporary artists in midtown Manhattan, free to the public. Its commissioned exhibitions, annual performance series of dance, theater, and music, and innovative public programming have supported a remarkable array of cutting-edge projects by contemporary artists and performers, many of whom have gone on to become major art world figures.

On January 29, 2008, the current and final Whitney at Altria exhibition, Undone, will close, as Altria prepares to relocate its corporate headquarters. A fitting finale, Undone focuses on four artists—Tom Holmes, Tony Matelli, Eileen Quinlan, and Heather Rowe—whose works subvert viewers’ expectations about medium and exhibition space. By employing often contradictory content, scale, materials, and representation, these artists draw on the context of the Whitney at Altria’s Gallery and Sculpture Court to construct moments of unexpected transformation and “undoing” of sculpture, photography, and architecture. The exhibition was organized by Howie Chen, Branch Curatorial Manager, with Shamim M. Momin, Associate Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Branch Director and Curator, Whitney at Altria.

The branch opened in April 1983, after construction was completed of the Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris Companies) headquarters building at 120 Park Avenue. It was an unprecedented project, marking the first time a corporation included a museum as an integral part of its offices and fully funded the activities within this space.

Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director, commented, “For 25 years, the Whitney at Altria has represented Altria’s strong commitment to contemporary art and experimental work. Altria’s support for emerging art and artists has been unsurpassed, and their championing of often challenging or controversial ideas has been exemplary. We are deeply grateful for their longstanding sponsorship of the Whitney’s branch and are proud of our relationship with Altria, a wonderfully successful partnership.”

A book delineating the branch’s 25-year history will be published this spring. This anthology plumbs the archives for the first time to include photographs of exhibitions and performances and excerpts from museum brochures, providing a unique record of the museum and its contributions to contemporary art. Distributed and co-published by the Whitney with Yale University Press, the book contains a foreword by Adam D. Weinberg, an introduction by Shamim M. Momin, and chronologies of all of the performances, programs, and exhibitions that took place over the years.

The idea for the Whitney at Altria originated in the mid-1970s, when Altria embarked on the development of a new corporate headquarters by the architect Ulrich Franzen. At the time, the city was in the midst of a severe fiscal crisis and many major corporations were leaving New York. A city incentive allowed for the allocation of extra floors in new buildings that included an interior public space; Altria was the first to use this incentive to create a cultural facility. The company already had a well-established record of supporting the arts in New York, and its chairman at the time, George Weissman, was a leading advocate for the arts and a trustee of the Whitney. Comprising a 5,200-square-foot sculpture court and a 1,000-square-foot gallery, the branch at 42nd Street along Park Avenue, ran nearly the full block. By situating this glass-enclosed space at this heavily trafficked intersection, the branch enhanced 42nd Street and created a “living billboard” for the arts across from Grand Central Terminal.

The branch museum quickly became one of the outstanding cultural venues in midtown Manhattan. Open to the public free of charge, the branch produced at least five exhibitions a year, four in the Gallery and one special project in the Sculpture Court. Each spring in the Sculpture Court, the Whitney at Altria also presented Performance on 42nd, which featured five to six performances a year, often commissioning new works and works-in-progress. In addition, the branch has provided a variety of education programs for adults and students. The Altria branch presented 110 exhibitions and hundreds of performances, programs, and events over the course of its 25-year history.

A leader in the field in producing contemporary art projects by mid-career and emerging artists, the Whitney at Altria focused primarily on site-specific projects in which artists were invited to produce new installations in the Gallery or the Sculpture Court. Some exhibitions consisted of curated shows drawn from the Whitney’s permanent collection and a number highlighted established artists who have had a substantial relationship with the Whitney Museum over the course of their careers.

When it opened, the branch was headed by Lisa Phillips, now director of The New Museum. Branch directors over the years have included Thelma Golden (now director of The Studio Museum in Harlem), Debra Singer (now executive director and chief curator of The Kitchen), and Shamim M. Momin, the Whitney’s associate curator, who has directed the branch since 2001. Howie Chen, who joined the branch in 2001, has been Branch Curatorial Manager and Senior Curatorial Coordinator since 2004.

“The Whitney at Altria became a destination to view work by some of the most innovative American artists of our time. It also introduced new audiences from New York and around the world to contemporary art and artists, creating a valuable dialogue between all,” said Jennifer P. Goodale, Vice President, Contributions, Altria Corporate Services, Inc.