German
Basic Data
Today, the US artist Joan Jonas is considered one of the pioneers of performance art in the 1960s. In her experimental and interdisciplinary art installations, Jonas works with drawings, projections, props, and soundscapes. The artist gets her inspiration from music, literature or rituals of foreign cultures.
- Born: 13 July 1936
- Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA
- Nationality: American
- Studied at: Columbia University, Boston Museum School, Mount Holyoke College
- Similar artists: Bruce Nauman
- Era: Modern art
Biography
Joan Jonas, born in New York City in 1936, studied art history and sculpture, first at Mount Holyoke College and then at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She then spent time in Europe and later returned to New York to study at Columbia University.
Jonas advanced to become a key figure in the field of performance and video art in the 1960s and 70s. Her work is often introspective, exploring themes of female identity, nature, and mythology. She frequently uses mirrors and mask-like props to explore issues of identity and perception. In doing so, her works often integrate personal narratives with cultural and historical references.
She has received numerous awards and honors worldwide, and her work has been exhibited at major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London. Today she lives and works in New York.
Exhibitions
- 04.09.21 – 05.12.21 34th Bienal de São Paulo - "Though it's dark still I sing" – Sao Paulo Biennial.
- 24.07.21 – 31.10.21 Inventing Nature – Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.
- 19.06.21 – 18.04.22 Enjoy - The mumok Collection in Change – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK), Vienna.
- 19.06.21 – 12.09.21 Sweet Lies. Fiktionen der Zugehörigkeit - Ludwig Forum, Aachen.
- 15.05.21 – 08.09.21 The Paradox of Stillness - Art, Object, and Performance - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
- 07.01.21 – 30.12.21 Viewfinder: Women’s Film and Video from the Smithsonian – Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington.
- 12.12.20 – 10.04.21 Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2020/2021 - Kochi-Muziris Biennale.
- 03.09.20 – 25.10.20 Around Day’s End: Downtown New York, 1970–1986 - Whitney Museum, New York City.
- 02.06.20 – 27.09.20 Yael Davids: A Daily Practice - Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven.
- 25.02.20 – 18.05.20 Joan Jonas. Moving Off the Land II - Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
- 20.02.2020 - 31.12.2020 Activating Pasts, Practising Futures - Rijksakademie van beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam.
- 25.02.2020 - 18.05.2020 Joan Jonas. Moving Off the Land II - Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
- 14.06.2019 - 20.10.2019 Animalesque. Art Across Species and Beings - BildMuseet, Umea.
- 25.05.2019 - 01.09.2019 Joan Jonas - Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto.
- 23.01.2019 - 14.10.2019 Joan Jonas - I Know Why They Left - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
- 25.05.2019 - 01.09.2019 Joan Jonas - Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto.
- 14.03.2018 - 05.08.2018 Joan Jonas: Retrospective - Tate Modern, London.
- 06.10.2017 - 14.01.2018 PERFORMANCE ! Les collections du Centre Pompidou, 1967-2017 - Le Tripostal, Lille.
- 25.06.2016 - 16.10.2016 Joan Jonas. stream or river, flight or pattern - Fundacion Botin, Santander.
Awards
- 2018: Kyoto Prize for Art, Kyoto.
- 2015: Special mention Award, Venice Biennale.
- 2009: Lifetime Achievement Award, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
- 1998: Anonymous Was A Woman Award.
- 1989: American Film Institute’s Maya Deren Award for Video.
- 1974: National Endowment for the Arts.
Literature
- In the shadow a shadow: the work of Joan Jonas, exhibition catalog, Joan Simon (Publ.), New York 2015.
- Joan Jonas. They come to us without words, exhibition catalog, Jane Farver (Publ.), Cambridge 2015.
- I Want to Live in the Country, Susan Morgan, Cambridge 2007.
- Sexy lies in Videotapes: künstlerische Selbstinszenierung im Video um 1970 bei Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, Joan Jonas, Anja Osswald, Berlin 2003.
- Joan Jonas - Performance, Video, Installation 1968 - 2000, exhibition catalog, Johann-Karl Schmidt (Publ.), Ostfildern-Ruit 2001.
Collections
Germany
- Kiel - Kunsthalle zu Kiel
England
- London - Tate Collection
France
- Paris - Centre Pompidou
- Paris - Frac Ile-de-France / Le Plateau
Canada
- Ottawa - National Gallery of Canada
- Vancouver - Vancouver Art Gallery °
Austria
- Salzburg - Museum der Moderne
USA
- New York - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- New York - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Weblinks
- Joan Jonas Kunstaspekte Exhibition and collection overview.
News
- Joan Jonas Commission for 2015 Venice Biennale to Make U.S. Premiere in San Francisco, by: Andy Battaglia, in: ARTNews, 15.11.2018.
- Joan Jonas: Moving Off The Land II, by: Barry Schwabsky, in: The Brooklyn Rail.
