Janet Henry's artistic work spans multiple mediums: collage and text-based work, jewelry, and sculpture/installations using multimedia materials. Her work often comments on American culture, including white male patriarchy, by making use of toys, dolls, and miniatures in her art installations.[7][8] In the 1980s, she was known for creating and photographing necklaces and bracelets that featured sequences of materials.[9] The work that she has completed has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions over the years.[4]
In partnership with filmmaker
Linda Goode Bryant, Henry produced Black Currant, a magazine which highlighted the experimental work of artists who were showcased by
Just Above Midtown Gallery (JAM).[10] The magazine was later known as B Culture and featured early works of
Greg Tate.[10] In the 1970s, Henry also worked in the Education Department at the
Studio Museum in Harlem, where she collaborated with artist
Carrie Mae Weems.[3]
Janet is a funder and educator contributing at the New York State Council on the Arts, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Lower Eastside Girls Club, and currently works at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School.[4]
Activism
Janet Henry was vocally opposed to the exhibition The Nigger Drawings by Donald Newman at
Artists Space[11] and refused to show her own work in that gallery because of this show title.[12] The exhibition was widely protested for the racism of this exhibition name by artists including
Carl Andre,
Howardena Pindell,
May Stevens, and
Lucy Lippard[13] who saw this incident as a key indicator of the systemic racism within the art world.[14] Henry was also outspoken about the implicit racism of Women's Action Committee.[15]
Kingsborough Community College Art Gallery, "Figuring Woman's Lives," Janice Farley, 1997
Abington Art Center, "New American Portraits," Dean Daderko, Jenkintown, PA, 1996
The Drawing Center, "Cultural Economics: Histories from the Alternative Arts Movement," Curated by Julie Ault, NYC, 1996
Algira Center of Contemporary Art, "With All Deliberate Speed: Revisiting Race and Education," Curated by Howard McCalebb and Carl Hazelwood, Newark, NJ, 1996
Manhattan Borough President's Gallery, "Through Our Eyes - By Women About Women," Curated by Laura Litchfield, 1996
Anderson Gallery, "X-Sightings," Buffalo, NY, 1996
New Museum, "Human/Nature," Benefit Exhibition, NYC, 1995
494 Gallery, "Pride and Prejudice,"
Shari Diamond and Honor LaSSale, NYC, 1995
The Gallery at Hunter College, "Beyond Circumstance," Curated by Margeret McInroe, NYC, 1995
42nd Street Development Project and Creative Time, NYC, 1994
Puffin Room, "Identity Crisis," Curated by Laurie Ourlicht and Kenny Schacter, NYC 1994
Art in General, "Little Things," Curated by Holly Block, NYC, 1994
Momenta, "Yes I Am - No I'm Not," Curated by Laura Parness and Eric Heist, NYC 1994
New Museum, "Bad Girls," Curated by Marsha Tucket, NYC, 1994[29]
Artists Space, "Artists Select," Selected by Lanie Lee, NYC, 1994
Longwood Art Gallery, "Urban Masculinity," Curated by Bettie-Sue Hertz and Calvin Reid, Bronx, NY, 1993
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT, 1994
AC Project Room at
303 Gallery, "Welcome Edition," Curated by
Paul Bloodgood and Alissa Friedman, NYC, 1993
Artists Space, "Activated Walls," Curated by Carlos Solana, NYC 1993
Momenta, "The Art of Self Defense and Revenge," Laura Parness and Eric Heist, NYC 1993
Queens Museum at PaineWeber Gallery, Curated by Phyllis Billick, NYC, 1992
494 Gallery, "Race and Culture," Curated by Suzanne Nicholas, NYC 1991
Maryland Art Place, "Collecting, Organizing and Transposing," Olivia Georgia, Baltimore, MD
Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, 1989
Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, "Art from the African Diaspora: Survival," Curated by Lorenzo Pace, Newark, NJ, 1988
Diverse Works, "Coast to Coast," Organized by Faith Ringgold and Clarissa Sligh, Houston, TX, 1988
Intar Gallery, "In Her Own Image," Curated by Howardena Pindell, NYC, 1988
White Columns, "Resistance (Anti-Baudrillard)" Curated by Group Material, NYC, 1987
Longwood Arts Project, "Toys Art Us," Curated by Fred Wilson, Bronx, NY, 1986–87
The Clocktower, "Progressions: A Cultural Legacy," Curated by Vivian Browne, Emma Amos and Julia Hotten, NYC 1986
Longwood Arts Project, "In the Tropics," Curated by Kellie Jones, Bronx, NY, 1986
California State College, Stanislaus at Turlock, "Exchange of Resources: Expanding Powers," Curated by Rebecca Ballenger, 1983
Just Above Midtown Gallery, "A Love Story," Curated by Kathleen Gonchorov, NYC, 1983
School of Visual Arts, "Transmogrify, "Selected by Caren Rosenblatt, NYC, 1983
Ohio State University Gallery, "All's Fair in Love and War in Feminist Art,"Curated by Lucy Lippard, Columbus OH, 1983
University of South Florida, Tampa, "Henry, Hill, Payne," 1983
Hamilton College, "The Regentrified Jungle," Curated by Joe Lewis, Clinton, NY, 1983
Franklin Furnace, "Allegory of an Artist's Career," with Sydney Blum, NYC, 1981
^Susan, Cahan (2016-02-19). Mounting frustration : the art museum in the age of Black power. Durham.
ISBN9780822358978.
OCLC907161723.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Dyer, Susan Y. "'... she is talking unruly curls not peppercorns ...': Susan Y. Dyer profiles Janet Henry." Women's Art Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 1995, p. 28. Academic OneFile, Accessed 30 Oct. 2018.
^Alternative art, New York, 1965-1985 : a cultural politics book for the Social Text Collective. Ault, Julie., Social Text Collective., Drawing Center (New York, N.Y.). New York: Drawing Center. 2002. p. 57.
ISBN978-0816637935.
OCLC50253087.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^"Review of: Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in a Transnational Age". New Art Examiner. 27: 58. 1999.
Janet Henry's artistic work spans multiple mediums: collage and text-based work, jewelry, and sculpture/installations using multimedia materials. Her work often comments on American culture, including white male patriarchy, by making use of toys, dolls, and miniatures in her art installations.[7][8] In the 1980s, she was known for creating and photographing necklaces and bracelets that featured sequences of materials.[9] The work that she has completed has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions over the years.[4]
In partnership with filmmaker
Linda Goode Bryant, Henry produced Black Currant, a magazine which highlighted the experimental work of artists who were showcased by
Just Above Midtown Gallery (JAM).[10] The magazine was later known as B Culture and featured early works of
Greg Tate.[10] In the 1970s, Henry also worked in the Education Department at the
Studio Museum in Harlem, where she collaborated with artist
Carrie Mae Weems.[3]
Janet is a funder and educator contributing at the New York State Council on the Arts, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Lower Eastside Girls Club, and currently works at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School.[4]
Activism
Janet Henry was vocally opposed to the exhibition The Nigger Drawings by Donald Newman at
Artists Space[11] and refused to show her own work in that gallery because of this show title.[12] The exhibition was widely protested for the racism of this exhibition name by artists including
Carl Andre,
Howardena Pindell,
May Stevens, and
Lucy Lippard[13] who saw this incident as a key indicator of the systemic racism within the art world.[14] Henry was also outspoken about the implicit racism of Women's Action Committee.[15]
Kingsborough Community College Art Gallery, "Figuring Woman's Lives," Janice Farley, 1997
Abington Art Center, "New American Portraits," Dean Daderko, Jenkintown, PA, 1996
The Drawing Center, "Cultural Economics: Histories from the Alternative Arts Movement," Curated by Julie Ault, NYC, 1996
Algira Center of Contemporary Art, "With All Deliberate Speed: Revisiting Race and Education," Curated by Howard McCalebb and Carl Hazelwood, Newark, NJ, 1996
Manhattan Borough President's Gallery, "Through Our Eyes - By Women About Women," Curated by Laura Litchfield, 1996
Anderson Gallery, "X-Sightings," Buffalo, NY, 1996
New Museum, "Human/Nature," Benefit Exhibition, NYC, 1995
494 Gallery, "Pride and Prejudice,"
Shari Diamond and Honor LaSSale, NYC, 1995
The Gallery at Hunter College, "Beyond Circumstance," Curated by Margeret McInroe, NYC, 1995
42nd Street Development Project and Creative Time, NYC, 1994
Puffin Room, "Identity Crisis," Curated by Laurie Ourlicht and Kenny Schacter, NYC 1994
Art in General, "Little Things," Curated by Holly Block, NYC, 1994
Momenta, "Yes I Am - No I'm Not," Curated by Laura Parness and Eric Heist, NYC 1994
New Museum, "Bad Girls," Curated by Marsha Tucket, NYC, 1994[29]
Artists Space, "Artists Select," Selected by Lanie Lee, NYC, 1994
Longwood Art Gallery, "Urban Masculinity," Curated by Bettie-Sue Hertz and Calvin Reid, Bronx, NY, 1993
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT, 1994
AC Project Room at
303 Gallery, "Welcome Edition," Curated by
Paul Bloodgood and Alissa Friedman, NYC, 1993
Artists Space, "Activated Walls," Curated by Carlos Solana, NYC 1993
Momenta, "The Art of Self Defense and Revenge," Laura Parness and Eric Heist, NYC 1993
Queens Museum at PaineWeber Gallery, Curated by Phyllis Billick, NYC, 1992
494 Gallery, "Race and Culture," Curated by Suzanne Nicholas, NYC 1991
Maryland Art Place, "Collecting, Organizing and Transposing," Olivia Georgia, Baltimore, MD
Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, 1989
Aljira Center for Contemporary Art, "Art from the African Diaspora: Survival," Curated by Lorenzo Pace, Newark, NJ, 1988
Diverse Works, "Coast to Coast," Organized by Faith Ringgold and Clarissa Sligh, Houston, TX, 1988
Intar Gallery, "In Her Own Image," Curated by Howardena Pindell, NYC, 1988
White Columns, "Resistance (Anti-Baudrillard)" Curated by Group Material, NYC, 1987
Longwood Arts Project, "Toys Art Us," Curated by Fred Wilson, Bronx, NY, 1986–87
The Clocktower, "Progressions: A Cultural Legacy," Curated by Vivian Browne, Emma Amos and Julia Hotten, NYC 1986
Longwood Arts Project, "In the Tropics," Curated by Kellie Jones, Bronx, NY, 1986
California State College, Stanislaus at Turlock, "Exchange of Resources: Expanding Powers," Curated by Rebecca Ballenger, 1983
Just Above Midtown Gallery, "A Love Story," Curated by Kathleen Gonchorov, NYC, 1983
School of Visual Arts, "Transmogrify, "Selected by Caren Rosenblatt, NYC, 1983
Ohio State University Gallery, "All's Fair in Love and War in Feminist Art,"Curated by Lucy Lippard, Columbus OH, 1983
University of South Florida, Tampa, "Henry, Hill, Payne," 1983
Hamilton College, "The Regentrified Jungle," Curated by Joe Lewis, Clinton, NY, 1983
Franklin Furnace, "Allegory of an Artist's Career," with Sydney Blum, NYC, 1981
^Susan, Cahan (2016-02-19). Mounting frustration : the art museum in the age of Black power. Durham.
ISBN9780822358978.
OCLC907161723.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^Dyer, Susan Y. "'... she is talking unruly curls not peppercorns ...': Susan Y. Dyer profiles Janet Henry." Women's Art Magazine, Nov.-Dec. 1995, p. 28. Academic OneFile, Accessed 30 Oct. 2018.
^Alternative art, New York, 1965-1985 : a cultural politics book for the Social Text Collective. Ault, Julie., Social Text Collective., Drawing Center (New York, N.Y.). New York: Drawing Center. 2002. p. 57.
ISBN978-0816637935.
OCLC50253087.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (
link)
^"Review of: Talking Visions: Multicultural Feminism in a Transnational Age". New Art Examiner. 27: 58. 1999.