DUMBO — This year there is a Brooklyn-based alternative to the annual blockbuster art exhibit at the Whitney Museum, one that celebrates the work of female artists.
Unlike the "Whitney Biennial," which features only a small number of artists who are women, "The Whitney Houston Biennial" features 75 artists, all of whom are female.
The show — located at the A.I.R. Gallery at 20 Jay St. in DUMBO — comes in response to the growing prominence of female artists in museums and galleries, according to curator and founder Christine Finley.
Finley, an artist known for her geometric paintings, told the DUMBO BID website that she was inspired by "Whitney Houston’s amazingness... Beyoncé Knowles song 'Girls Rule the World,' and all of the awesome women I have been meeting in New York this season."
She said her show "celebrates the contributions of women artists currently working in New York City."
The exhibit includes the well-known street artist Swoon as well as Narcissister — whose photographs often involve synthetic breasts and mangled Barbie dolls — and emerging artists such as Desiree Leary, who creates low-tech digital portraits using her phone, a point-and-shoot camera, and Photoshop.
Also featured will be Maya Erdelyi, whose work is a hybrid approach to cut-paper stop-motion, puppetry, drawn and computer animation, and Ashley Garrett, who paints with oil on canvas.
The free one-day event takes place on March 9 from 4 to 8 p.m.
