Overview

Joan Jonas (b. 1936, New York City) is a pioneering American artist known for her work in video, performance and installation. Trained as a sculptor, she studied at Mount Holyoke College and later earned an MFA from Columbia University. Her work often explores themes of myth, landscape, memory and ecological crisis, with drawing remaining a central thread throughout her multidisciplinary approach. Jonas has exhibited extensively throughout her long career. Notable retrospectives include Joan Jonas: Good Night Good Morning (Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, 2024) and Joan Jonas (Tate Modern, London, 2018). Empty Rooms (Gladstone Gallery, New York, 2025) showcased new installations reflecting her ongoing engagement with space, sound and environmental themes. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (The Drawing Center, New York, 2024) presented the first major retrospective of Jonas’s works on paper.

 
Works
Exhibitions