Whitney Museum's 'Remote Viewing' Exhibition Showcases Psychedelic Painting and Drawing

The Whitney Museum of American Art presents 'Remote Viewing: Invented Worlds in Recent Painting and Drawing,' curated by Elisabeth Sussman, running through October 9, 2005 at 945 Madison Avenue. This eight-artist survey explores visionary aesthetics through painting and drawing, connecting to 1960s military psychic experiments. Featured artists include Carroll Dunham, Julie Mehretu, Matthew Ritchie, Terry Winters, Franz Ackermann, Steve DiBenedetto, Ati Maier, and Alexander Ross. The exhibition reflects a Williamsburg aesthetic characterized by intense labor, informational overload, and psychedelic imagery. Dunham's 'Green Planet' (1996–97) mixes splatter and cartooning, while Mehretu's 21-foot wide 'Seven Acts of Mercy' (2004) draws from Caravaggio. Ritchie's installation includes vinyl-adhesive wall decorations and a 12-foot diameter aluminum sculpture. Ross creates paintings from photographs of clay sculptures. Critic Katy Siegel suggests 16 alternative artists could have been included, noting exclusions like Bruce Pearson and Fred Tomaselli. The review mentions David Brody's concurrent exhibition at Pierogi 2000 in Williamsburg, featuring watercolors in his 'Planet of the Arch Builders' series until June 27, 2005. The article originally appeared in the New York Sun on June 2, 2005.