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
$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
Mirror
By Aline Erbeia
Located in GENEVA, CH
Mirror: " The time is now" Number of stones: 146 red jasper Each mirror is unique, just like the people who will own them. They are distinguished by the unpredictable and harmoni...
Mirror, Precious Stone
Gufram Broken Mirror by Snarkitecture, Grey
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
Bronze-Patina Brass Mirror by R&Y Augousti
By R & Y Augousti
Located in New York, NY
The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by skilled artisans, ultimately making each piece unique, designed in Paris and produced in the Philippines. The Ginko mirror by R & Y Augousti is an elegant and versatile piece. The piece is both sculptural and graphic with its organic shape and floating cut out mirror...
Brass
Mirror
By Aline Erbeia
Located in GENEVA, CH
Mirror: " By your side " Number of stones : 228 Lapis-Lazuli Each mirror is unique, just like the people who will own them. They are distinguished by the unpredictable and harmoniou...
Mirror, Precious Stone
Bronze-Patina Brass Mirror by R&Y Augousti
By R & Y Augousti
Located in New York, NY
The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by skilled artisans, ultimately making each piece unique, designed in Paris and produced in the Philippines. The Ginko mirror by R & Y Augousti is an elegant and versatile piece. The piece is both sculptural and graphic with its organic shape and floating cut out mirror...
Brass
Large Silver Concave Mirrored Glass Wall Art
Located in Greenwich, CT
Large concave mirrored glass wall art inspired by Space Age decor made from painted glass and hung with included metal brackets. This p...
Glass
Gufram Broken Square Mirror by Snarkitecture, Grey
By Gufram Furniture, Snarkitecture
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
$6,536 / item
H 47.25 in W 17.72 in D 0.4 in
Decorative art glass reflective wall panel, Metal Shift, Bronze, by Rive Roshan
Located in Amsterdam, NL
The reflective, coloured, rippled glass panel – designed to add a palette of colour to spaces – reflects light in spaces and adds movement and color whilst creating abstracted reflec...
Glass
$6,536 / item
H 47.25 in W 17.72 in D 0.4 in
Decorative art glass reflective wall panel, Metal Shift, Copper – by Rive Roshan
Located in Amsterdam, NL
The reflective, colored, rippled glass panel – designed to add a palette of colour to spaces – reflects light in spaces and adds movement and color whilst creating abstracted reflect...
Glass
Contemporary Handmade Yellow Glass Concave Sculptural Art French Mirror
Located in Ibiza, Spain
This modern sculptural concave French mirror is a stunning wall-hanging artwork, handmade from yellow molded glass with a yellow lens. Finished with bronz...
Bronze
$6,536 / item
H 47.25 in W 17.72 in D 0.4 in
Decorative art glass reflective wall panel, Metal Shift, Palladium, Rive Roshan
Located in Amsterdam, NL
The reflective, colored, rippled glass panel – designed to add a palette of colour to spaces – reflects light in spaces and adds movement and color whilst creating abstracted reflect...
Glass
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 ...
Mirror
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 ...
Mirror