magic hour–golden time is a durational performance presented as part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial, in which five performers activate the museum’s terraces as both stage and vantage point. The work draws on the Japanese aesthetic concept of shakkei—“borrowed scenery”—and the German Romantic compositional device of Rückenfigur, in which a figure is seen from behind, gazing into a landscape. Together, these frameworks shape a choreography of looking and being looked at, situating the body within relations of scale, perception, and environment.

magic hour–golden time unfolds over a three-hour duration, during which the performers relocate at the top of each hour to activate a different outdoor terrace of the Whitney. The performance can be witnessed from multiple perspectives throughout its duration: from within the museum’s galleries, terraces, and stairwells, as well as from public pedestrian viewpoints including the surrounding sidewalks, waterfront, and the High Line. Viewers are invited to encounter the work from changing positions, emphasizing movement, perception, and the shared experience of time across interior and exterior spaces.

Performed by AJ Wilmore, India Lena González, Ananda Naima González, Marguerite Hemmings, and Kingsley Ibeneche
Costumes by Liz Prince
Produced by Greta Hartenstein

Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art for the 2026 Whitney Biennial, magic hour–golden time is co-presented and supported by Frieze.