Author(s): Jenny Holzer; Larry Warsh (Editor)

Art History | 2024 June New Releases

A boxed collection of Jenny Holzer's renowned Truisms

Jenny Holzer's Truisms (1977-79), comprising over 250 single-sentence declarations, were written to resemble existing aphorisms, maxims, and clichés. Each sentence distills difficult and contentious ideas into a seemingly straightforward statement of fact. Privileging no single viewpoint, the Truisms examine the social construction of beliefs, mores, and truths. Arranged in alphabetical order, Truisms were first shown on anonymous street posters pasted throughout downtown Manhattan, and they have since appeared on T-shirts, hats, electronic signs, stone floors, and benches.

Holzer-isms presents a collection of these iconic phrases in a special form: a cloth-covered, foil-stamped box containing six folded posters designed by Holzer, each featuring a selection of Truisms, accompanied by a booklet with an introduction, biography, and chronology. The result is a beautifully designed object that offers a new way to experience Holzer's powerful and provocative text-based art.