Top
Selection from Truisms: Words tend to…, 2020 (text from Truisms, 1977–79), 2024
Photography by Garrett Carroll

Sculpture

White Labradorite

17.00 x 25.00 x 16.00 in

43.2 x 63.5 x 40.6 cm

Edition of 6

This work is inscribed underneath the top with the studio’s inventory number. Courtesy of the Artist

ESTIMATED VALUE: $200,000 - $250,000

This auction is over

Interested in this piece, or this artist?
Contact your personal Artspace Art Advisor

About The Work

Holzer began making stone benches in the mid-1980s, initially seeing them as artifacts of her process, but over time recognizing their greater potential, revisiting them decades later. Functioning similarly to benches in city parks or cemeteries, they serve both communal and commemorative purposes, offering spaces for contemplation or group discussion. Adorned with her variously insightful, aggressive, or comic Truisms, Holzer hopes Words tend to… will provoke diverse responses.

Eliciting questions about authorship, origin, and ultimate meaning, the Truisms invite viewers to question their beliefs and values. As the artist noted in 1990, “I think that the Truisms act as a warning of how things are dangerously reduced to a one-liner or a tiny bit of information. They were sincere but they were also a warning.”

About Jenny Holzer

From The Magazine

  • Edition of 6 plus 1 AP

  • Questions about this work?
  • Interested in other works by this artist or other artists? We will source them for you.
  • Want to pay in installments?

Contact an Artspace Advisor

advisor@artspace.com


DISCOVER

a treasure trove of fine art from the world's most renowned artists, galleries, museums and cultural institutions. We offer exclusive works you can't find anywhere else.

LEARN

through exclusive content featuring art news, collecting guides, and interviews with artists, dealers, collectors, curators and influencers.

BUY

authentic artworks from across the globe. Collecting with us means you're helping to sustain creative culture and supporting organizations that are making the world a better place.

CONNECT

with our art advisors for buying advice or to help you find the art that's perfect for you. We have the resources to find works that suit your needs.

INSIDER ACCESS TO THE WORLD'S BEST ART

Artspace offers you authentic, exclusive works from world-renowned artists, galleries, museums and cultural institutions. Collecting with us helps support creative culture while bringing you art news, interviews and access to global art resources.

  • COLLECT FROM 300+ GALLERIES & MUSEUMS