Paul Sietsema: Empire at The Whitney
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, September 19, 2025


Paul Sietsema: Empire at The Whitney



NEW YORK.- The Whitney Museum of American Art presents “Paul Sietsema: Empire.” Paul Sietsema’s first solo museum show presents his new film Empire, as well as related drawings and two architectural constructions. Inspired in part by a 1964 Vogue photograph of critic Clement Greenberg’s Manhattan living room, the 24-minute film is an exploration of physical, psychological, and cinematic space. Empire will be presented at the Whitney from March 20 through June 8; the film will be shown in the Anne & Joel Ehrenkranz Lobby Gallery, while the constructions and drawings will be displayed in the Kaufman Astoria Studios Film & Video Gallery on the second floor.
Presented as part of The Contemporary Series, the exhibition is organized by Debra Singer, associate curator of contemporary art, and accompanied by a special publication with an essay by Chrissie Iles, curator of film and video.
Empire is composed of a series of segments examining varieties of space and the ways we perceive different spaces on the screen. It uses two architectural models constructed by the artist: Greenberg’s chic living room--a quintessential 60s space with paintings by some of the artists Greenberg championed, including Kenneth Noland, Morris Louis and Barnett Newman--and a splendid 18th century-Rococo interior from the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris. In addition, Sietsema explores other forms of space, including the structure of a translucent crystalline form and a cavernous space modeled after a Louise Bourgeois sculpture.
The title, Empire, refers to Andy Warhol’s 1964 film of the same name (an eight-hour static shot of the Empire State Building), and to the Empire Theatre, which in 1896 became the first place in London where one could see “moving pictures.”
As in his earlier work, Sietsema creates by hand all of the scenes and objects depicted. Emphasizing the materiality of film, Sietsema luxuriates in the medium’s sensuous qualities as he plays with exposures, ragged film leader, multiple perspectives, and various film processing methods.
Paul Sietsema (b. 1968) lives and works in Los Angeles. He received an MFA from UCLA in 1999. He had a solo exhibition at Regen Projects in Los Angeles in 2002. Sietsema’s work was included in “The Americans: New Art” (2001) at the Barbican in London, “Sonsbeek 9” (2001) in Arnheim, The Netherlands, “00” (2000) at Barbara Gladstone Gallery in New York, and “L.A.” (2000) at Galerie Monika Spruth & Philomene Magers in Cologne, Germany. An artist’s book, Constructions of Vision, was published last year in conjunction with the “Sonsbeek 9” exhibition.










Today's News

September 19, 2025

Exhibition at the Davis Museum chronicles photography career of Ilse Bing

Salvator Mundi musical welcomes new Tony Award-winning producer

New Sissi Farassat exhibition plays with absence and imagination

Gothic Modern: A new exhibition explores how medieval art inspired Klimt, Schiele, and Munch

'The Miracle of Herrengrund': New exhibition explores the fascinating intersection of mining and art

El Museo del Barrio celebrates recent acquisitions in a bold new show

Kerry James Marshall's largest European exhibition unveils new work at the Royal Academy

MIT Museum unveils a monumental climate-inspired sculpture by Janet Echelman

Cameron Martin's 'Baseline' exhibition explores the line between abstraction and representation

National Museum of Asian Art names Naoko Adachi the Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art

Next generation of designers in the spotlight for the 2025 Rigg Design Prize exhibition at NGV

Salzburg exhibition confronts the unfinished business of stolen art

University Libraries host exhibition of artist Karen Blessen's journals

Sculpture Milwaukee announces: Joel Otterson: On view on Wisconsin Avenue

Building a better MAM: New entrance prioritizes comfort and conservation

Hermès Himalaya Kelly, rare Louis Vuitton collection dazzle in Heritage's auction

The Ackland presents Color Triumphant: Modern Art from the Collection of Julian and Josie Robertson

Monumental Emily Carr survey to open at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2026

New exhibitions at the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

Bay Area art world mourns the passing of Violet Fields, a seminal artist and teacher

'As Above, So Below' at The FLAG Art Foundation explores art, faith, and the sacred in the everyday

Centraal Museum Utrecht presents Willem de Rooij: Valkenburg

Smith College Museum of Art presents Michel Kameni's portraits

Borusan Contemporary presents Edward Burtynsky: Shifting Topography




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 




Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)


Editor: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful