Point Alumni Yve Laris Cohen & Rhys Ernst in Prestigious Museum Exhibition

We are extremely proud to share the news that two Point Alumni are among the artists included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

They are Yve Laris Cohen and Rhys Ernst (included in the Biennial with his partner Zackary Drucker). Yve was a Point Scholar from 2005 -2009 and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. Rhys was the HBO Point Scholar from 2010 – 2011 and graduated from CalArts.

Yve Laris Cohen,
Waltz; Cross Hesitation, 2012
(performance at Thomas Erben Gallery, New York).
Photograph by Andreas Vesterlund

The 2014 Whitney Biennial is the 77th in the Museum’s ongoing series of Annuals and Biennials begun in 1932 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Three curators spent two years interviewing hundreds of artists around the country and selected 103 to be in the exhibition. The Biennial is widely regarded as the most important museum survey of contemporary art being made in America. The New York Times gave the exhibition a positive review last week (including mention of Rhys and Zackary). The Whitney Biennial is on view from March 7 until May 25.

Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker
Relationship (2011), from the Relationship series, 2008–13

The inclusion of Yve and Rhys in this prestigious exhibition is the latest example of how Point Alumni are making a significant impact in their respective professional fields and society. Yve and Rhys both address issues of gender and sexuality in their artistic work, bringing visibility to the LGBTQ community. As Point Alumni they are leading by example and their accomplishments offer hope to so many LGBTQ young people also looking to realize their potential.

We hope you will get a chance to see Yve and Rhy's work while on view at the Whitney, or somewhere else soon – as we have every reason to expect that their careers as artists will take them many places. Thanks to our supporters, our Point Scholars know there are people all across the country committed to seeing them attain their education and benefit from an intergenerational network of support and encouragement. The result is not only great works of art, but impressive individuals and great sources of pride for the LGBTQ community and our allies.