Provenance

Galerie Philomene Magers, Cologne
Catalogue Essay

Jenny Holzer’s “Erlauf Peace” texts memorialize the lives lost in World War II referring to the site where, on May 8th, 1945, Russian and American soldiers met to declare peace. As part of this series, Holzer created two commemorative installations, the Erlauf Peace Monument in Erlauf, Austria, and the Black Garden, in Nordhorn, Germany, both of which incorporate the design of landscape with her inscribed benches and stone pathways. As is typical of her work, these benches embrace public space in an effort to be seen and to confront viewers with messages that are often difficult but important to face. The physical weight of these benches reflects the profound weight of their literal message—the same as that of the Erlauf Memorial in Austria—and together with their infinite durability, they stand in memoriam. Holzer’s Selections from Erlauf make participants out of viewers, inviting those who come across them to rest, absorb and ruminate on their inscriptions: WHO DIED LOOKING, A MEMORY OF DOMINANCE, WHOSE THOUGHTS ARE MISSING, PARENTS QUIET WHEN YOU ARE TAKEN…
This work exemplifies the way in which Holzer is able to give a voice to silent thoughts, often bringing to light concerns of war, death, violence, oppression, sexuality, feminism and power. Throughout her oeuvre she has continued to play with language, tartly turning clichés and sayings in on themselves as she mobilizes them for her own purposes. Indeed, she makes them mobile, often times running them across an LED screen or placing them on a bumper sticker. Seemingly mundane phrases become hauntingly serious when monumentalized in stone or broadcast on billboards or commercials. As the artist herself explains, “I came to language because I wanted to be explicit about things, but didn’t want to be a social realist painter. I had been an abstract painter and that was the painting that I loved, and that I could do. It’s not that I thought that one was better than the other, but for some reason I couldn’t become a figurative painter. I wanted to be explicit about things, and it became clear that the only other way for me to do it was to use language. People can understand when you say or write something.” (J. Simon, “Other Voices, Other Forms,” Jenny Holzer, Germany, 2008, p. 21)
Artist Biography
Jenny Holzer
American • 1950
Jenny Holzer is a Conceptual artist best known for her text-based public art projects. Holzer's work speaks of violence, oppression, sexuality, feminism, power, war and death. Throughout the years, Holzer has employed a variety of media, from a T-shirt to a plaque to an LED sign. Starting in the 1970s with the New York City posters, and continuing through her recent light projections on landscape and architecture, she uses her art as a form of communication and commentary. Holzer's art hangs in important collections around the globe including 7 World Trade Center, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
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122

Jenny Holzer

Selections from Erlauf II

1995/2001

Dark black Zimbabwe granite.
Each bench: 17 3/4 x 78 x 28 in. (45.1 x 198.1 x 71.1 cm).
This work is from an edition of two.

Estimate
$300,000 - 400,000

Sold for $386,500

Contemporary Art Part I

8 November 2010
New York

101
Glenn Ligon
Gold just us #7
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $98,500
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102
Charles Ray
Wet Paint
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $422,500
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103
Robert Gober
Untitled Candle
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $458,500
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104
Dan Colen
Untitled (Vete al diablo)
Estimate $150,000 - 250,000
Sold for $290,500
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105
Christopher Wool
ONE YEAR NO HALLOWEEN (P464)
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $602,500
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106
Cy Twombly
Untitled
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $698,500
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107
Andy Warhol
Mona Lisa
Estimate $1,500,000 - 2,500,000
Sold for $1,986,500
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108
Jeff Koons
Caterpillar Ladder
Estimate $5,500,000 - 7,500,000
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109
George Condo
Particle Pick Up
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
Sold for $542,500
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110
Keith Haring
Andy Mouse
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $722,500
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111
Richard Prince
Crazy Three
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $458,500
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112
Maurizio Cattelan
Frank and Jamie
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $1,594,500
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113
Richard Prince
Untitled (Cowboy)
Estimate $1,000,000 - 1,500,000
Sold for $902,500
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114
Takashi Murakami
Eye Love SUPERFLAT
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
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115
Ed Ruscha
Sex at Noon Taxes
Estimate $3,000,000 - 4,000,000
Sold for $4,338,500
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116
Roy Lichtenstein
Two figures, Indian
Estimate $3,000,000 - 5,000,000
Sold for $3,890,500
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117
Mark Rothko
No. 9
Estimate $800,000 - 1,200,000
Sold for $842,500
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118
Ed Ruscha
Production
Estimate $600,000 - 800,000
Sold for $662,500
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119
Cecily Brown
Eclogue
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
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120
Eric Fischl
April in the Shower
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $338,500
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121
Jean-Michel Basquiat
MP
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
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122
Jenny Holzer
Selections from Erlauf II
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $386,500
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123
Bill Viola
Union
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
Sold for $242,500
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124
Wade Guyton
Untitled
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $302,500
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125
Martin Creed
Work No. 202: Half the air in a given space
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $98,500
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126
Raymond Pettibon
No Title (a reaction to) Surfer
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $92,500
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Contemporary Art Part I

8 November 2010 New York

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Provenance

Catalogue Essay

Artist Biography

Jenny Holzer

122

Jenny Holzer

Selections from Erlauf II

Contemporary Art Part I

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8 November 2010
New York