Holzer, Jenny | The future is stupid, 2000 — available on Composition Gallery

Crystal ball with gravure Diameter: 8 cm. Hand-signed and numbered by the artist on a certificate of authenticity.

This witty and conceptually loaded multiple by Jenny Holzer engraves one of her celebrated Truisms into the surface of a crystal ball — a fortune-teller’s object repurposed as a vehicle for sharp, aphoristic language. “The future is stupid” cuts through mystical pretension with characteristic Holzer directness, transforming prophecy into provocation. The small, luminous sphere, just eight centimetres in diameter, concentrates the artist’s decades-long exploration of text, power, and public space into an intimate, hand-held form. Hand-signed and numbered on a certificate of authenticity, this edition piece is at once poetic, wry, and unmistakably Holzer.

Jenny Holzer (United States, 1950) is an American conceptual artist renowned for her text-based works that challenge societal norms and provoke thought. Utilizing mediums like LED displays, projections, and installations, she presents powerful messages in public spaces, addressing themes such as power, violence, and oppression. Holzer's art transforms language into a visual experience, engaging audiences worldwide.

Jenny Holzer

The future is stupid, 2000

Name: The future is stupid, 2000
SKU: 17345
Price: 1400.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

Form

Sculpture / Object

Sculpture / ObjectA sculpture is a three-dimension object made using any one of the basic sculpting processes. These include carving, casting, constructing or modeling. Carving materials may be bone, ivory, stone or wood. Modeling and casting use clay or wax, while constructions glue materials together.

Medium

Mixed Media

Mixed MediaMixed media refers to artwork that incorporates more than one medium within a single piece. Unlike multimedia art, which combines distinct forms of visual art and often includes elements like sound, video, or digital media, mixed media focuses on combining traditional art materials, such as paint, ink, and collage. Mixed media art allows artists to achieve a wide range of effects and textures by layering and blending different materials.

Edition

Edition of 150 + 20

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Crystal ball with gravure Diameter: 8 cm. Hand-signed and numbered by the artist on a certificate of authenticity.

Jenny Holzer

The future is stupid, 2000

Sculpture / Object

Mixed Media

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Truism 2, 1977-79

Sculpture / Object

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Living 2, 1980-82

Sculpture / Object

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Olympian Sign, 1986

Sculpture / Object

Mixed Media

Currently Not Available

No sold works to show.

Protect me from what I want.
- Jenny Holzer

Jenny Holzer belongs to the neo-conceptual school of artists. Text is the basis for her work. With her first celebrated series, entitled “Truisms”, which began in 1977, she plastered Times Square and lower Manhattan with photostats of hand-typed one-liners intended to amuse, provoke and entertain. At a time when New York was going through a transitional time of rising crime, skyrocketing prices, and high unemployment, Holzer brought art out of the gallery and onto the street.

Holzer’s art was always directed to the common person, the individual strolling down the street or looking up at a billboard. The messages varied from quirky phrases to serious, thought-provoking statements concerning timely topics.

In addition to print art, Jenny Holzer employed LED lights, Neon Signs, and scrolling marquees during her most prolific period the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“Truisms” can still be found widely distributed with Holzer’s messages printed on ball caps, tee shirts, and posters.

Artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat

What is Street art?

Street Art is artwork created and executed in public spaces, outside of traditional art venues. It gained popularity during the 1980s graffiti art boom and has since evolved into various forms and styles. Common forms of Street Art include pop-up art, sticker art, stencil graffiti, and street installations or sculptures. Terms like guerrilla art, neo-graffiti, post-graffiti, and urban art are often used interchangeably to describe this genre, which challenges conventional ideas about where and how art should be displayed.

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Jenny Holzer