“Blue Laments Arno”

Words are Jenny Holzer's main raw material. In the late 1970s, the artist moved to New York to participate in the Whitney Museum's independent study program, and began to explore public space as a medium for her work. The artist received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1990, and the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum in 1996. Her works have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; the Fondation Beyeler in Basel; the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; and the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo, among others.

Holzer's debut was the posters of the "Truisms" series (1977-1979), in which he printed sentences with obvious truths. The main idea is that these truths are only faced when they are put out in the street and spoken by the general public.

Based on people's reactions to her works, the artist began to occupy a larger space in the city. She appropriated architecture and large advertisements; she wrote on the streets, on the ground, on cars, on the facades of buildings, walls, waterfalls and in vehicles such as magazines and websites. She used different materials, such as bronze, aluminum and silver to express her ideas in the city. She deals with violence, indignation, fury and people's ignorance with a great sense of humor and courage.

Of her most recent works, one that stands out for the controversy it caused was the installation of a light panel in the lobby of the 7 World Trade Center in New York, in which the artist exposes, in the form of poetry and prose, memos from the American government detailing abuses against prisoners.

In a text about the exhibition "Protect Protect" (Whitney Museum - 2009), published in the New York Times, Roberta Smith points out: “In poetic or discursive tones, with superiority or humility, playing the role of a bossy sister or with affection, Mr. Holzer always warns us about the threats of life, how to achieve freedom or how to achieve happiness. She manages to trace the deepest thoughts of those in love or those who have survived some emotional shock, and in the end she discusses what triggers social chaos”.