Jenny Holzer. The Venice Installation
Organized by:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
Commissioner:
Michael Auping
Jenny Holzer's The Venice Installation was the first solo exhibition at the US Pavilion by a woman-artist. It comprised a series of site-specific installations. The core of the exhibition was a series of four room-sized environments, darkened to enhance the contrasting properties of stone and light. Two of the rooms contained Italian stone-work benches and Italian marble tile floors inscribed with texts, while the other two galleries included specially designed Italian marble tile floor as well as a series of LED boards. One gallery contained 21 three-color horizontal LED signs in English, Italian, French, German and Spanish. According to Auping, "Over the years, Holzer has become more focused on interior installation that are not only powerful in their psycosocial content but also very moving in terms of their sheer visual and physical effect on the viewer." During the Biennale, Holzer's texts were presented in a variety of media in public spaces, such as the airport and railway station, on TV, and via t-shirts, hats and other memorabilia.
The pavilion was awarded the prize for the Best National Presentation.