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Jenny Holzer Art

American, b. 1950

Known for taking art out of the traditional “white cube” of galleries and museums and onto the streets, Jenny Holzer is one of the most potent feminist Neo-Conceptual artists of the 20th century. Her most iconic work critiques the information age and consumerism by reclaiming its primary media — conventional print billboards, storefront posters and LED signs.

“I used language because I wanted to offer content that people — not necessarily art people — could understand,” the Ohio-born Holzer told Interview magazine. She received her MFA in painting from Rhode Island School of Design, where her work was influenced by Abstract Expressionism. It was while in the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art that Holzer became inspired to work at the intersection of public art and language.

In the late 1970s, after becoming an active participant in the downtown Manhattan artist collective Colab, which included Tom Otterness and Christy Rupp, Holzer began to create her legendary “Truisms” series. Printing anonymous one-line aphorisms in bold and italicized text on broadsheets, she pasted them up in public spaces all over New York City. The “Truisms” are provocative in questioning how we receive and process information. The work elicits debate and represents a range of perspectives. In an era that saw the rise of street art and graffiti, Holzer’s pithy word art would also find viewers by way of T-shirts, stickers and park benches, into which her slogans were carved.

Holzer’s more combative “Inflammatory Essays” (1979–82) took the form of mass-produced posters on colored paper — each featuring paragraphs as compared to the punch-line structure of “Truisms.” These touched on subjects such as violence, misogyny, power structures and consumerism, all of which have continued to be central in her work.

Starting in 1982 as part of a Public Art Fund project, Holzer projected “Protect me from what I want” and other “Truisms” on the Spectacolor board, a large computerized light signboard in New York City’s Times Square. Her “Abuse of power comes as no surprise,” which has appeared on T-shirts as part of the series, has taken on new life in an increasingly politically divided America.

Just as it did in the 1970s, the forcefulness of her work continues to make both viewers and the art world stop and pay attention. She has had solo exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Tate Modern in London and elsewhere. She has also created permanent installations including the New York City AIDS Memorial. A 2014 show at New York’s Cheim & Read featured oil-on-linen canvases based on declassified government files pertaining to detainees from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Find Jenny Holzer prints and sculptures on 1stDibs.

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In a Glass House
In a Glass House

In a Glass House

By Jenny Holzer

Located in New Canaan, CT

Jenny Holzer In a glass house, 2018 Etched glass mirror 36 x 24 inches Edition of 15, 5 AP's Stamped and numbered Text from Philip Johnson: The Architect in His Own Words by Hilary L...

Category

2010s North American Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Mirror

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays (twelve works) – 12 Prints from 1982
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays (twelve works) – 12 Prints from 1982

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays (twelve works) – 12 Prints from 1982

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) Inflammatory Essays (twelve works), 1982 Medium: Set of 12 offset lithographs on colored paper Dimensions: 25.4 x 25.4 cm (10 x 10 in) Edition: Issue...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Offset

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays: Shriek When the Pain Hits...
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays: Shriek When the Pain Hits...

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays: Shriek When the Pain Hits...

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) Inflammatory Essays: Shriek When the Pain Hits During Interrogation, 1996 Multiple: Pewter multiple with engraved text Dimensions: 6.6 × 5 × 1.1 cm (...

Category

20th Century Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Metal

Jenny Holzer, Water Board 0000090: 2012, Signed Print, Contemporary Art
Jenny Holzer, Water Board 0000090: 2012, Signed Print, Contemporary Art

Jenny Holzer, Water Board 0000090: 2012, Signed Print, Contemporary Art

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) Water Board 0000090, 2012 Medium: Template reservage technique, on 350 g/qm wove paper Dimensions: 90.5 × 70 cm (35 3/5 × 27 3/5 in) Edition: From th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Paper

Survival Pencils
Survival Pencils

Survival Pencils

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Jenny Holzer's menacing "Truisms" first appeared in 1983 when the artist was invited to participate in a group show exploring the themes and dialogue from George Orwell's "1984". O...

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1990s Conceptual Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Pencil

The Skateroom x Jenny Holzer "Impeach" Marble Limited Edition Skateboard Deck
The Skateroom x Jenny Holzer "Impeach" Marble Limited Edition Skateboard Deck

The Skateroom x Jenny Holzer "Impeach" Marble Limited Edition Skateboard Deck

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Jersey City, NJ

The Skateroom x Jenny Holzer One skateboard deck Solid marble with engraving 31 x 8 inches Limited Edition of 25, unnumbered Hand-signed Certificate of Authenticity included SHIPPI...

Category

2010s Belgian Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Marble

Jenny Holzer -USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT: Signed glass bowl
Jenny Holzer -USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT: Signed glass bowl

Jenny Holzer -USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT: Signed glass bowl

By Jenny Holzer

Located in New York, NY

Jenny Holzer USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT, 2003 Hand Blown Glass Bowl 4 × 10 × 10 inches Edition 68/200 Signed and numbered 68/200 on the underside with Holzer's in...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Blown Glass, Engraving

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays 3 - LED Sculpture, Light Art, Text-based Art
Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays 3 - LED Sculpture, Light Art, Text-based Art

Jenny Holzer, Inflammatory Essays 3 - LED Sculpture, Light Art, Text-based Art

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) Inflammatory Essays 3, 1982/2002 Medium: Electronic tri-color mini-LED panel, with anodized aluminium housing, incl. power adapter Dimensions: 10.1 x...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

LED Light

More Trouble Than Thought, Screen Print with Palladium Leaf, 2021
More Trouble Than Thought, Screen Print with Palladium Leaf, 2021

More Trouble Than Thought, Screen Print with Palladium Leaf, 2021

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Manchester, GB

Jenny Holzer, More Trouble Than Thought, 2021 Screen print with palladium leaf finish on paper 23 3/5 × 29 9/10 in (60 × 76 cm) Edition 31 of 125 Hand-signed by artist and numbered ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Screen

Jenny Holzer, Top Secret 32 (from Water Boarding Series), Signed Print
Jenny Holzer, Top Secret 32 (from Water Boarding Series), Signed Print

Jenny Holzer, Top Secret 32 (from Water Boarding Series), Signed Print

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) Top Secret 32, 2012 Medium: Template reservage technique, on 350 g/qm wove paper Dimensions: 90.5 × 70 cm (35 3/5 × 27 3/5 in) Edition: From the seri...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Handmade Paper, Other Medium

Half Dead, "Inflammatory Essay" (from Documenta 1982)
Half Dead, "Inflammatory Essay" (from Documenta 1982)

Half Dead, "Inflammatory Essay" (from Documenta 1982)

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Jenny Holzer is one of the most important and original artists of the 20th century. Her body of work, with its emphasis on text, is provocative and occasionally frightening, manipulating the language of folk wisdom, pop culture, and government slogan to produce a commentary on global issues including power structures, gender struggle, economics, voting, and warfare. Holzer's iconic "Inflammatory Essays", produced between 1979 and 1982, were first pasted on walls throughout heavily populated metro areas including New York, and shortly after in other cities. Unsigned and commercially produced, they subverted the conventions of advertising, graffiti, and public art. Each essay was in a different eye-catching color to maximize viewers' attention. It was also helpful when one Essay replaced an older one. The texts were derived from her childhood interest in rapturous writings. Holzer tried to emulate a similar style for her essays, yet borrowed from political theorists (notably Mao, Lenin, and Emma Goldman...

Category

1980s Conceptual Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Jenny Holzer, AKA: Portfolio of 5 Etchings, Contemporary Art, Signed Print
Jenny Holzer, AKA: Portfolio of 5 Etchings, Contemporary Art, Signed Print

Jenny Holzer, AKA: Portfolio of 5 Etchings, Contemporary Art, Signed Print

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Hamburg, DE

Jenny Holzer (American, b. 1950) AKA, 2006 Medium: Set of five etchings, on Magnani Pescia paper (with title page, sheets loose, in original black silk-covered portfolio case) Dimens...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Etching

End of the USA
End of the USA

End of the USA

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Jenny Holzer is one of the most important and original artists of the 20th century. Her body of work, with an emphasis on text, is consistently provocative and occasionally frightening, manipulating the language of both pop culture and government slogan to produce commentary on global issues notably power structures and warfare. Holzer's iconic "Inflammatory Essays", produced between 1979 and 1982, were first pasted on walls throughout heavily populated metro areas including New York and other cities. Composed of anonymous statements, printed on friendly or calm colored papers, the statements were influenced by writings of major political figures such as Emma Goldman...

Category

1980s Conceptual Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Offset

Truth Before Power
Truth Before Power

Truth Before Power

By Jenny Holzer

Located in Toronto, Ontario

Jenny Holzer (b. 1950) is a multi-disciplinary American artist best known for her text-based public art projects. She was the first woman to represent the United States at the 1990 V...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Jenny Holzer Art

Materials

Digital Pigment

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Located in Toronto, Ontario

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Jenny Holzer art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jenny Holzer art available for sale on 1stDibs. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Michele Zalopany, Rudolph Carl Gorman, and Warren Keating.

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Questions About Jenny Holzer Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    While the takeaway of Jenny Holzer’s art is subjective to each individual, her work focuses mainly on the delivery of words and ideas in public spaces with large-scale installations. Shop a selection of Jenny Holzer artwork and prints on 1stDibs.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Jenny Holzer’s medium is visual arts, specifically conceptual art and installations. She draws on social and political commentaries to create her text-rich work. You can shop a selection of Jenny Holzer’s pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.