Christine Sun Kim Confronts the Limits of Language in 'All Day All Night'

The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Walker Art Center are coming together to unveil the first major museum survey of artist Christine Sun Kim. In a showcase of over 90 works spanning from 2011 to today, the expansive retrospective shines a light on Kim’s exploration of Deaf lived experiences, delving into her relationship to spoken language, the complexities of communication and reflections on life amidst shared social spaces.

Unfolding across three floors of the museum, All Day All Night brings Kim’s innovative use of musical notation, infographics and (written and sign) language into focus. Her work often examines the systematic marginalization of Deaf individuals, culminating in a captivating interplay of the poetic, political and, at times, humorous. In song with this protest against barriers to access is a celebration of family, friends and the rich communities that surround her.

This survey marks a new chapter in Kim’s ongoing connection with the Whitney, where she helped establish Whitney Signs, an Deaf educator-led resource that offers ASL programming. She has since made several returns to the museum, with notable projects such as the 2018 mural Too Much Future and Degrees of My Deaf Rage in The Art World, featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial.

Embedded within the exhibition’s title is a new dawn for accessibility, extending beyond the gallery walls. “When you sign All Day All Night, you almost make a circle in the air,” Kim notes as she describes the hand movement of the sun hovering over the horizon then dipping below it. “For me, having started at the Whitney as an educator and coming back as an artist, it’s a full-circle moment.”

The exhibition will be on view starting February 8, 2025. Check out the museum’s website for more information.

Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort St,
New York, NY 10014