JENNY HOLZER – SOFTER TARGETS
2015-10-12The renowned American artist is best known for using language to make art, utilising a range of techniques to employ the power of words. Since 2004, Holzer has explored the use of text from declassified and other government documents.
The title of the exhibition refers to a ‘redaction painting’ from a classified 2004 Federal Bureau of Investigation report, ‘The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland: An FBI Assessment’. Relatively few pages of the 45-page report were declassified, with its text heavily redacted, before release to the public. Faithfully rendered, but enlarged and realised in a palette of whites, greys, transparent red and black, the painting received its title from the single surviving line on page 26: ‘Shifting to Softer Targets’.
All five gallery spaces are devoted to the exhibition, creating a succession of environments; some sun-lit or illuminated by the kinetic programming of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) and sombrely keyed to set the mood of the works that Holzer presents. The pieces range from the ‘Truisms’ that first established her reputation in the 1980s to her thoughtful ongoing examination of the ‘war on terror’.
Opposite – Hanging, 2014
Exhibition runs through to October 24th, 2015
Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Durslade Farm
Dropping Lane
Bruton
Somerset
BA10 0NL