The New Museum in New York has announced that Gary Carrion-Murayari and Alex Gartenfeld will curate the fourth New Museum Triennial.

Since its inception in 2009, the triennial has earned a reputation for presenting a fresher, younger and more international approach to contemporary art than its rival, the Whitney Biennial.

In line with this philosophy, the New Museum has appointed two young and ambitious curators.

At 34 years of age, Carrion-Murayari has served as curator at the New Museum since 2010, and co-curated the Whitney Biennial that same year.

28-year-old Gartenfeld is the deputy director and chief curator of the Institute for Contemporary Art in Miami.

The fourth New Museum triennial takes place in 2018.
Photo: blog.vaulttravel.com

Speaking to the New York Times about his vision for the 2018 triennial, Carrion-Murayari revealed that they are keen to present emerging artists from Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America. However, he stressed that it was too early to reveal any specific details.

“This will hopefully be a show about things we didn’t know about before we started,” he said. Carrion-Murayari also explained that his experience curating the Whitney Biennial with Francesco Bonami taught him “how to be smart about how you do studio visits and how you travel—it could be a very chaotic and scary experience.”

Gartenfeld, meanwhile, praised the last triennial, curated by Lauren Cornell and Ryan Trecartin. The show focused on the theme of technology and how it is changing the world we live in.

“I wouldn’t want to put us into a box in terms of the artists we’ll be looking at,” he said. “But I think those issues will continue to be a major aspect of the work we’re going to be looking at.”