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.
$10,000
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...
Mirror
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...
Paper
'Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, 'Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptua...
Wood
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...
Offset
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...
LED Light
Impeach Marble Limited Edition Skateboard Deck by Jenny Holzer
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Jersey City, NJ
The Skateroom w/ Jenny Holzer One skateboard deck Solid marble with engraving 31 x 8 inches Limited Edition of 25 Hand-signed Certificate of Authenticity included SHIPPING NOTE: Thi...
Marble
$8,500
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...
Blown Glass, Engraving
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...
Handmade Paper, Other Medium
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...
Etching
All Things Are Delicately Connected embroidered tea towel
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Washington , DC, DC
Contemplate this though provoking statement with this tea towel designed by Jenny Holzer. Each tea towel is embroidered in the UK and made from 100% organic ...
Cotton, Organic Material
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 (...
Metal
$550
Torture Is Barbaric -- Print, Postcards, Text Art, Truisms by Jenny Holzer
By Jenny Holzer
Located in London, GB
Truisms [Torture Is Barbaric], after 1994 Jenny Holzer Screenprint on balsa wood multiple with text from the Survival (1983-1985) and Truisms (1977-1979) series Published by Fotofol...
Screen
$55,000
Selections from the Living Series: It is hard to know what people want...
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Edition of 3 Acquired by current owner from Sotheby's Sale in 2021 Other works from this series have been acquired by The Whitney Museum of American Art, MOMA, National Gallery of ...
Bronze
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...
Offset
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...
Digital Pigment
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...
Pencil
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...
Lithograph, Offset
$756
H 31.5 in W 25.99 in
Doughlah G.E.P., 1968-71 - Contemporary Art, Abstract Art
By Frank Bowling
Located in London, GB
Title: Doughlah G.E.P., 1968-71 Year made: 2023 Material: Giclée print on 330gsm Somerset Velvet cotton rag paper with an embossed publisher stamp Edition of 250 It comes with COA f...
Giclée
$5,000 / item
H 39.38 in W 39.38 in D 7.88 in
Gufram Broken Square Mirror White by Snarkitecture, Limited Edition of 77
By Snarkitecture, Gufram Furniture
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Broken series consists of broken mirror, broken square mirror, and broken bench. Each item is available in three colors: Grey, black (limited edition of ...
Plastic, Rubber
$1,800
H 32.25 in W 41 in
Artist and Model Howard Hodgkin abstracted orange and black watercolor gouache
By Howard Hodgkin
Located in New York, NY
Large black and marigold orange abstract interior scene of a bust in front of a window with fingerprints and painterly brushstrokes. Rich color and texture ideal for hanging in minim...
Watercolor, Gouache, Etching
$1,450
H 17.5 in W 22.5 in
SIGNED 1960s Jean DUBUFFET print (Jean Dubuffet exhibition poster)
By Jean Dubuffet
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Jean Dubuffet Ustensiles Utopiques 1966: Hand-signed Jean Dubuffet lithographic poster published on the occasion of: "Jean Dubuffet, Recent Pa...
Offset, Laid Paper, Lithograph
$2,250
H 29.5 in W 38.75 in
Howard Hodgkin hand-colored Early Evening in the Museum of Modern Art
By Howard Hodgkin
Located in New York, NY
Large scale black and white abstract interior scene with dots, lines, brushstrokes, and hand painting in grey, to hang in contemporary, modern and minimalist spaces. While British pop artists such as David Hockney and Patrick Caulfield numbered amongst Howard Hodgkin's circle of friends, Hodgkin's work is painterly, emotional, expressionist, and abstract. Early Evening in the Museum of Modern Art, by Howard Hodgkin. Signed by the artist, numbered, and dated 79 lower center in red crayon. Soft-ground etching printed from the same plate as 'Late Afternoon in the Museum of Modern Art', with hand coloring in black gouache on Grey BFK Rives mould-made paper. This print depicts an abstracted scene, perhaps a sculpture in front of a window in the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, in Hodgkin's signature painterly style. The expressive mark-making in this print is an example of the artist’s movement in the late 70s towards pronounced gestures. Wide areas of deep black pigment contrast urgent swipes of ink. Always seeking greater richness in his prints, Hodgkin layered ink and hand coloring in this print, rendering each impression in the edition unique. Part of a series of four prints reflecting on a visit to...
Gouache, Etching
$22,000
H 46 in W 46 in D 8.75 in
One Light - immersive infinite perceptual ambient light wall sculpture
By Raymond Graber
Located in San Francisco, CA
Raymond Graber‘s celestial light sculptures transform the sense of perception, challenging the human eye’s sense for scale and time with a transcendenta...
Wood, Lights, LED Light, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Neon Light
$2,250
H 32.25 in W 41 in
Artist and Model Howard Hodgkin - green and yellow etching watercolour gouache
By Howard Hodgkin
Located in New York, NY
This vibrant abstract orange and green print is part of a group of soft-ground etchings (Artist and Model, Artist and Model (in green and yellow), These…Plants) by Howard Hodgkin. The two versions of Artist and Model are printed from the same plates, but in different colors. In this iteration, green watercolor contrasts beautifully with marigold orange, crimson, and terra cotta red. Seen in all three prints is a bust in silhouette before a window. Artist and Model is a surprising name, as Hodgkin never painted or drew from a model. Signed by the artist with initials, dated 1980, and numbered lower center in red crayon. Soft-ground etching with hand coloring in a yellow watercolor wash and green gouache on Stoneridge mould-made etching paper. Edition 100. Howard Hodgkin was introduced to the etching technique used in Artist and Model (in green and yellow) at Petersburg Press, where this print was produced and where he would become a long-time collaborator. This technique allowed him to work fluidly and spontaneously, creating the moody interior scenes that mark Hodgkin’s work from the late 70s and early 80s. Catalogue reference: Elizabeth Knowles...
Watercolor, Gouache, Etching
$1,000
H 22 in W 20 in
"Prints: To Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts"
By Claes Oldenburg
Located in New York, NY
Claes Oldenburg "Prints: To Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts" (Punching Bag) Kornblee Gallery, New York, 1967 Exhibition Poster 22 x 20 inches Signed
Offset
$900
H 26 in W 20.25 in
Judy Chicago poster (Hand signed and inscribed) feminist art
By Judy Chicago
Located in New York, NY
Accidents, Injuries and other Calamities poster Judy Chicago (Hand signed and inscribed), 1988 Offset lithograph on thin board (signed and inscribed by Judy Chicago) 26 × 20 1/4 inch...
Pencil, Offset, Lithograph
$34,000
H 48 in W 48 in D 8 in
Thirteen - immersive dimensional perceptual ambient color light wall sculpture
By Raymond Graber
Located in San Francisco, CA
Raymond Graber's celestial light sculptures transform the sense of perception, challenging the human eye’s sense for scale and time with a transcendenta...
Fiberglass, Plaster, Plywood, LED Light, Neon Light
Interior: Red Couch and Landscape
By Mickalene Thomas
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Mickalene Thomas (b.1971) is an American artist exploring the intersection of popular culture and art history, through a contemporary Black female gaze. As an openly gay Black woman,...
Varnish, Glitter, Archival Pigment, Screen
$1,391 / item
H 18.51 in W 14.18 in D 1.97 in
Contemporary Design 'Moss Wall Piece, by Andredottir & Bobek
By Andredottir & Bobek
Located in copenhagen, DK
One of a kind, contemporary design, meadow block side tables embody the surface of moss. Made by the art and design duo Andredottir & Bobek They have...
Foam
'Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, 'Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptua...
Wood
Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual...
Wood
Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual...
Wood
Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual...
Wood
Untitled (From the Living Series)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Jenny HOLZER (b. 1950) Untitled from the series THE LIVING SERIES, 1981 Bronze plaque. This work is the artist proof number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs. 10 x 45.5 c...
Bronze
Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' (framed)
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Manchester, GB
Jenny Holzer, Truism 'Protect Me From What I Want' Mixed media on wood Unframed 10.2 x 15.2 cm (4 x 6 in) Framed 22 x 27 cm (8.66 x 10.63 in) Jenny Holzer is an American conceptu...
Wood
Delicately Interconnected
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jenny Holzer's menacing (and sometimes humorous) "Truisms" first appeared in the late 1970s in a variety of formats, but initially as a type of street art. Over the past four decad...
Screen
Ceramic Chargers
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jenny Holzer's menacing (and sometimes humorous) "Truisms" first appeared in the late 1970s in a variety of forms, but initially oriented towards a type of street art. Over the pas...
Ceramic
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...
Digital Pigment
Truisms Puzzle
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jenny Holzer is one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. Her body of work, with its emphasis on text, is consistently provocative and occasionally frig...
Lithograph, Offset
Truisms (set of 12), by Jenny Holzer
By Jenny Holzer
Located in Dubai, Dubai
TRUISMS (SET OF 12), 2018 Screenprint on cherrywood 10 x 15 cm Copyright The Artist
Wood Panel, Screen
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...
Lithograph, Offset