Whitney Museum Benefits From Changing Fortunes

Traditionally the museum cherry-picks from its biennials. Last year it bought 17 works from the 2008 edition — about the same as from past biennials — with funds from the museum’s various acquisition committees, sometimes helped by individuals.

For many of the artists, like the Californian Daniel Joseph Martinez, this will be the first time their work has entered the museum’s permanent collection. The Whitney recently acquired Mr. Martinez’s “Divine Violence,” a 2007 room installation consisting of 92 wooden panels painted in automotive gold flake, each bearing the name of an international organization that has links to violent or coercive tactics. “They’re beautiful and minimal, and yet what lurks beneath is something which is much more sinister,” Ms. De Salvo said. Mr. Martinez’s work also appeared in the biennial in 1993.