Guest Editor Sanford Biggers for Whitewaller New York 2017: The Salon Art + Design

New York is the land of plenty and many, and this is my favorite time of the year, when the city teases with autumn while still tasting the last drops of summer. While the country roils in historically unaddressed issues and fears, New York offers a look at the U.S. at its best—a true cornucopia of culture and cultures, straightforward and direct, full of integrity and hyper-inclusive by default.

It’s great to be invited to guest edit this edition of Whitewaller New York, because every idea, innovation, and identity calls this city home.

Some of the best places to see art in the city are in museums and institutions like The Noguchi Museum (showing “The Sculpture of Gonzalo Fonseca” now through March 11), The Studio Museum in Harlem (with fall exhibitions like “Fictions” and “We Go as They” that are the last to be shown in the old building, before the massive renovation by David Adjaye), and The Hispanic Society Museum and Library. I’m looking forward to seeing shows like “Trigger: Gender as Tool and Weapon” at the New Museum, “The Art Ensemble of Chicago” at Columbia University Lenfest Center for the Arts, and “Toyin Ojih Odutola: To Wander Determined” at The Whitney.

Outside of my favorite cultural institutions, you can find me dining at spots like Red Rooster in Harlem, Esther & Carol on the Bowery in Nolita, and Yuzu Premium Sushi in Harlem. For drinks, I like The Office at the Mandarin Oriental, and Dutch Kills in Long Island City serves up some superior cocktails.

And if you don’t spot me at any of the places above, you can at least see my work—following my solo show at Marianne Boesky, “Selah,” which closed on October 21—on view at The Met in “Talking Pictures” (through December 17) and “AMERICAN AFRICAN AMERICAN” at Phillips on Berkeley Square in London, November 8–25.

—Sanford Biggers
Artist