JANET GOLDNER

ARTIST STATEMENT:

Bridging diverse cultures, my art explores and celebrates similarities and differences. I make steel sculptures and installations that also include photography and video. Research in the form of immersive fieldwork is important to my work. Annual visits to Mali, for more than two decades, provide inspiration. My art traces my enduring exploration of sculptural form, my ongoing relationship with African culture, and my lifelong involvement in social activism. Major themes in my work include Mali, (im)migration, and genealogy.

Bio:

Janet Goldner is a New York City-based interdisciplinary artist. Her steel sculpture, photography, video, text, installation, and social projects bridge diverse cultures, exploring and celebrating similarities and differences. Goldner’s work has been exhibited in over thirty solo exhibitions and over one hundred fifty group exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. Highlights from Goldner’s museum exhibitions include Global Africa Project, Museum of Art and Design, New York; Women Facing AIDS, New Museum for Contemporary Art, New York; Visions of Life, Islip Museum, Islip, NY; and Bronx Museum of the Arts. Permanent collections include the American Embassy in Mali, Segou, Mali, and the Islip Museum on Long Island, NY. She received a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship to Mali and four Fulbright Specialist grants (Mali, Zimbabwe, Japan, Uganda) as well as grants from the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the US Dept of State, Public Diplomacy.