Modern & Contemporary Artists Codexery

Jenny Holzer

American neo-conceptual artist known for text in public spaces.

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She was born on July 29, 1950, in Gallipolis, Ohio, into a family of two generations of Ford auto dealers.[1][2] Jenny Holzer is a neo-conceptual artist whose text-based public art frequently addresses feminism, power, and violence.[3][4][5] Her work has been displayed on billboards, LED signs, stone benches, and a race car for BMW.[6]

Life and work

She began her first work with language and public art after moving to New York.[7][2] Her initial public works, Truisms (1977–79), were anonymous broadsheets wheat-pasted to buildings and fences in Manhattan.[8][9] Since 1993, she has mainly used texts written by others, including poets such as Wislawa Szymborska and Mahmoud Darwish.[10][9] Holzer won a Golden Lion at the 44th Venice Biennale in 1990.[11][2]

Holzer attended Duke University, the University of Chicago, and Ohio University, then received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1977.[1][7] In 1976 she relocated to Manhattan and entered the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program, which she described as a safe haven from graduate school.[7][9] From 1977 until about 1981, Holzer was an active participant in the Colab collective and took part in The Times Square Show.[7][9] In 1982, she placed her first large electronic sign on the Spectacolor board located in Times Square.[12][2]

What the cited sources add

The Art History Archive notes that Holzer's conception of language as art began to emerge in New York.[2] The same source states that Holzer would stand and listen to the dialogues invoked by her words.[2] In that interview, Holzer described Colab as "a good home, a fine laboratory"[9] The Art History Archive reports that the birth of her first child in 1989 inspired Holzer's Laments series.[2]

The same source explains that Holzer withdrew from the art world for a few years and returned in 1993 with a fresh approach.[2] Kiki Smith's interview notes that Holzer spends most of her time traveling and working on paintings in her Brooklyn studio and home in Hoosick Falls, New York.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jenny Holzer", Art History Archive: Biography & Art; Edward Lewine (December 16, 2009), Art House New York Times. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Jenny Holzer - Biography & Art - The Art History Archive", www.arthistoryarchive.com. facts only, no text reused. arthistoryarchive.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Edward Lewine (December 16, 2009), Art House New York Times.; Christiane., "50 women artists you should know", Prestel, 2008; "Word Art: Text-based Painting, Prints, Sculpture", Art Encyclopedia; Cohen, "13 Artists Who Highlight the Power of Words", Artsy, January 5, 2019; Benson, "Celebrating the Provocative Power of Text Art", Elephant, September 11, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jenny Holzer: Interview", November 29, 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Phillips: NY010510, Jenny Holzer", Phillips; "Phillips: NY010510, Jenny Holzer", Phillips (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jenny Holzer, For the Guggenheim, September 26–December 31, 2008 Guggenheim Museum, New York. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jenny Holzer"; Edward Lewine (December 16, 2009), Art House New York Times.; "Jenny Holzer: Softer Targets". Hauser & Wirth, July 11, 2015.; "Joan Simon: When you first began to show your work you were identified with the Colab collective. Jenny Holzer: Shortly after the Whitney programme I met Colen (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Great women artists", Phaidon Press, 2019, p. 192; "Jenny Holzer" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Kiki Smith (May 2012), Jenny Holzer Interview.. facts only, no text reused. interviewmagazine.com
  10. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rubin, "Art Newspaper", March 2010; Kiki Smith (May 2012), Jenny Holzer Interview. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Buchholz, "Women Artists", Prestel, 2003, p. 118; "Holzer, Jenny". Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, accessed February 17, 2025.; Jenny Holzer: THE FUTURE PLEASE, September 13–November 3, 2012 L&M Arts, Los Angeles.; "Holzer, Jenny". Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, accessed February 17, 2025.; Kiki Smith. "Jenny Holzer". Time, April 17, 2024. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Jenny Holzer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jenny Holzer, Untitled (1990) Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Vienna. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jenny Holzer (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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