For 40+ years, American artist Jenny Holzer has presented her astringent ideas, arguments, and sorrows in public places and international exhibitions, including 7 World Trade Center, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Her medium – whether paired with a T-shirt, a plaque, or an LED sign – is thought/text, and a public dimension is integral to the delivery its delivery. Setting out with postering New York City in the 1970s and continuing to recent projections onto landscape and architecture, Holzer’s practice rivals ignorance and violence with intellect, humor, humanity, and courage. She received the Leone d’Oro at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the World Economic Forum’s Crystal Award in 1996, and the Barnard Medal of Distinction in 2011. She holds honorary degrees from Williams College, the Rhode Island School of Design, The New School, and Smith College.
For our first collaboration with Jenny Holzer, we produced a very limited edition to honor the lives lost, the lives still fighting, and the lives dedicated to raising awareness against AIDS. Holzer’s contribution to the NYC AIDS Memorial resonates with Walt Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’. The landmark is now a stark reminder of the AIDS epidemic that once ravaged New York back in the 80s, claiming the lives of over 100,000 victims.
Our second collaboration features the artist’s take on the US politics that revolve around the Trump presidency. Addressing the Senate trial, Jenny Holzer has displayed “IMPEACH” on electronic sign trucks for the past year. In February 2020, we launched a limited IMPEACH marble edition of 25 and a limited IMPEACH wood edition of 500 solo skateboard decks.
Through the sales of this latest joint effort, THE SKATEROOM will apply its fundraising model to provide money to support social projects dedicated to empowering at-risk youth. The artist has waived her royalties to support two U.S. based non-profits: Change the Ref and Vote.org.
