Jenny Holzer

Jenny Holzer (b. 1950, Ohio, USA) is one of the most influential artists of her generation. Since the late 1970s, her work has explored the interaction between language and power. Her best-known installations consist of texts placed in urban spaces using various media — LED displays, hand-painted signs, bronze plaques, posters, stone benches, and light projections. Such works can awaken viewers’ consciousness and catalyze critical thinking, puncturing the media landscape to which we have become so accustomed that we can fail to recognize reality.

works

In primo piano

Fuzzy, 2016, RGB diodes, stainless steel housing, 12.4 x 129.5 x 5.2 cm, ed. 6

DORMO, 2019, curved Versilys Gold marble bench, 43.2 x 106 x 45.7 cm

HEREIN, 2022, 24k gold and red gold leaf and oil on linen, 203.2 x 157.5 x 3.8 cm

Thanks, 2024, 24k gold, antique gold, champagne gold, moon gold and red gold leaf and oil on linen, 104.1 x 79.1 x 3.8 cm

-57-, 2024, red gold and platinum leaf and oil on linen, 61 x 46.2 x 3.8 cm

FBI, 2023, 24k gold and red gold leaf and oil on linen, 61 x 46.2 x 3.8 cm

CRYPTOLOG Fall, 2024, moon gold and red gold leaf and oil on linen, 61 x 46.2 x 3.8 cm

Uniting Strengthening, 2024, 24k gold and red gold leaf and oil on linen, 61 x 46.2 x 3.8 cm

Tools Required, 2024, caplain, palladium and platinum leaf and oil on linen, 147.3 x 111.8 x 3.8 cm

Denied, 2024, platinum leaf and oil on linen, 61 x 46.2 x 3.8 cm

Attribution is a Bear, 2019, caplain and palladium leaf and oil on linen, 147.3 x 111.8 x 3.8 cm

Page 171, 2019, caplain and palladium leaf and oil on linen, 147.3 x 111.8 x 3.8 cm

Page 405, 2019, 24k gold and palladium leaf and oil on linen, 147.3 x 111.8 x 3.8 cm

Privately Constructed, 2024, carbon on tracing paper, 75.3 x 61 cm, 77.8 x 63.5 x 4 cm (framed)

Living: Sometimes the most decadent..., 2002-2024, carbon on tracing paper, 60.3 x 106.7 cm, 67 x 113 x 4 cm (framed)

Living: I saw them strip a man..., 2004-2018, carbon on tracing paper, 56.5 x 102.2 cm, 63 x 108.5 x 4 cm (framed)

Living: When you're on the verge of determining..., 1981, text on cast bronze plaque, 15.2 x 25.4 x 0.5 cm, ed. 3

Living: In a paradisiac climate everything is clear..., 1981, text on cast bronze plaque, 12.7 x 25.4 x 0.6 cm, ed. 3

Living: It takes awhile before you can..., 1981, text on cast bronze plaque, 20.3 x 25.4 x 0.9 cm, ed. 3

Survival: The beginning of the war will be secret, 1984, text on cast aluminum plaque, 7.6 x 25.4 x 0.8 cm, ed. 10

For more than forty years, Jenny Holzer has presented her astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions, including Times Square, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Her medium, whether a T-shirt, plaque, or electronic sign, is writing, and the public dimension is integral to her work. Starting in the 1970s with her New York City street posters and continuing through her recent light projections on landscape and architecture, her practice has rivaled ignorance and violence with humor, kindness, and courage. Holzer received the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award in 1996, the rank of officier in France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016, the US State Department’s International Medal of Arts in 2017, and Time magazine’s Time 100 Award in 2024. She holds honorary degrees from Williams College, the Rhode Island School of Design, the New School, and Smith College. She lives and works in New York.
Per oltre quarant'anni Jenny Holzer ha esposto in spazi urbani come Times Square, intervenendo sul paesaggio architettonico e ha realizzato mostre nei più noti musei internazionali, tra cui il Guggenheim di New York e di Bilbao, il Louvre di Abu Dhabi. Ha ricevuto il Leone d'Oro alla Biennale di Venezia nel 1990, il Crystal Award del World Economic Forum nel 1996, il titolo di ufficiale nell’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Francia nel 2016, la Medaglia Internazionale delle Arti del Dipartimento di Stato degli Stati Uniti nel 2017, le lauree honoris causa dal Williams College, dal Rhode Island School of Design, dal New School e dallo Smith College. È menzionata fra le 100 persone più influenti al mondo nella Time 100 Award 2024 del Time. Vive e lavora a New York.