Suzan Frecon's Paintings Offer Sensual Counterpoint in 2010 Whitney Biennial

Suzan Frecon's abstract paintings provided a quiet, sensual contrast to the video-heavy melancholy of the 2010 Whitney Biennial. Her diptych "embodiment of red (soforouge)" from 2009 featured sumptuous reds in homeground pigment, offering visual warmth against the exhibition's prevailing sour tone. Curators Francesco Bonami and Gary Carrion-Murayari positioned Frecon's work as a formal counterweight to the solipsistic video installations dominating the survey. The artist's exquisitely crafted canvases, with their hovering forms and studied poise, evoked references ranging from Moorish domes to Gothic arches. Frecon's subtle allusions and understated aesthetic found resonance with other veteran artists in the biennial, including Robert Grosvenor's fiberglass structure and Tanya Auerbach's trompe l'oeil effects. The Whitney Museum of American Art's 75th Biennial ran during 2010, with this capsule review originally posted during the exhibition's run. Artcritical republished the review in 2013 as a topical archive pick, coinciding with Frecon's works on paper show at David Zwirner Gallery from February 13 to March 23, 2013. Frecon's paintings demonstrated how traditional abstraction could maintain relevance amid contemporary art's technological shifts.