The New Museum Triennial returns

In its fifth installment, the exhibition presents new and recent work by forty artists, living and working in twenty-three countries. The majority of artists will be exhibiting in a U.S. museum for the first time. Titled “Soft Water Hard Stone” the exhibition will be on view from October 28, 2021 through January 23, 2022. The title of the 2021 Triennial is taken from a Brazilian proverb: Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura (Soft water on hard stone hits until it bores a hole). The proverb can be said to have two meanings: if one persists long enough, the desired effect can eventually be achieved; and time can destroy even the most perceptibly solid materials. The title speaks to ideas of resilience and perseverance, and the impact that an insistent yet discrete gesture can have over time. The artists’ work on view exalt states of transformation, calling attention to the malleability of structures, porous and unstable surfaces, and the fluid and adaptable qualities of both technological and organic mediums. Throughout the exhibition, artists address the regenerative capabilities of the natural world and our inseparable relationship to it, and grapple with entrenched legacies of colonialism, displacement, and violence.