Through photography, sculptures, photography, and literature, American artist Roni Horn questions the nature of identity, perception, and meaning. Born in 1955 in New York, she studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and later at the Yale School of Art, where she received the master's degree. Since the beginning of the 1980s, the artist has produced works that have emotional and psychological dimensions. Horn often describes her work as ‘site-dependent’ and "moody". Today a Horn's auction draws a lot of attention and her works can be found in many major public collections, including Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection in New York, The Netherlands and Kunstmuseum, Basel, MoMA in New York, and the Museum Krüller-Müller in The Netherlands.
Roni Horn has had a close relationship with Iceland since her first trip there in the 1970s. After traveling the island on her motorbike, she fell in love with the untouched nature that possesses a strong sense of timelessness. It inspired the series of books titled To Place. Among them are a series of graphite and watercolor drawings titled Bluff Life, a photographic essay Arctic Circles and the To Place: Verne's Journey featuring the boundless horizon of the North Sea. In 2006 To Place was voted among the most important artistic books in history.
Over the years, Horn regularly returned to Island, for it turned out to be an endless source of inspiration. The artist created works that perfectly depicted the cyclical relationship between nature and humankind. The permanent installation titled Some Thames (2000) features eighty photographs of water, which can be seen at the University of Akureyri in Iceland.
Roni pays close attention to the quality of the materials, no matter the mediums. In her rich oeuvre, she has used a variety of materials, including rubber, glass, texture pigment, and gold. The artist draws inspiration from nature, whether it is the weather, or humans as well as poetry and literature. Roni has caught the eye of the public in the 80s after having exhibitions at both Leo Castelli Gallery and Paula Cooper in New York. Among her most memorable installations are You Are the Weather—Munich (1996) at the Deutscher Wetterdienst bureau in Munich, and the Library of Water (2007), Artangel’s first international commission, now located at the Stykkishólmur, Iceland. It is important to note that the installation was created by using the water from the Icelandic glacier.
Roni Horn creates artworks that strongly communicate with the viewers by installing pieces in different rooms or opposing walls. The artist does not believe that when observing the work of art, everybody shares the same experience, for it is influenced by time and space itself.
Whenever a Horn's auction is announced, her artworks are quickly sold out. The artist had exhibitions all around the world, but the first solo exhibition was held at the Kunstraum München in the 80s. Among the group exhibitions are Venice Biennale (1997), and Whitney Biennial two times. A survey show of Roni’s oeuvre organized by Whitney Museum of American Art in 2009 has traveled to several major institutions, including Tate Modern, London, Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Collection Lambert in Avignon.
Roni Horn lives and works in Iceland and New York.
Featured image: Photo of Roni Horn.
All images copyright of the artist.
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