Bettina Werner (born in 1965, in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy) is an Italian artist based in New York City. She has created artwork with her colorized salt technique since the early 1980s. Werner became an American citizen in July 2010 and now bears dual

citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

Life and work

Werner was born in Milan where studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts of Brera The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca d ...

. In 1989 she relocated to New York. Salt's crystallized

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness * Texture ...

intrigued Werner and encouraged her to explore different combinations of textures and colors creating a unique and signature

artistic language An artistic language, or artlang, is a constructed language designed for aesthetic and phonetic pleasure. Language can be artistic to the extent that artists use it as a source of creativity in art, poetry, calligraphy or as a metaphor to address ...

. Her first exhibition in New York was at the Marisa Del Re Gallery in 1990.Bettina Werner
/ref> Her salt paintings, sculptures, art installations and functional pieces of artwork, such as her salt sculpture-table, salt sculpture-bed and salt sculpture-backgammon boards are exhibited in museums and galleries extensively throughout Europe, Russia and the United States, including the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the

Detroit Institute of Art The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project complete ...

, Las Vegas Art Museum,

Chase Manhattan Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fi ...

, the collection of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel, and the collection of Martin Margulies in Miami. In 2002, she founded The Salt Queen Foundation in New York, a non-profit educational institution. Its goals include the celebration of artists who use innovative techniques and unusual materials. The institution is dedicated to the support, conservation, and protection of works of art created with Werner's unique textured and colorized salt technique invented in the 1980s. Furthermore, the foundation aims to promote the education of the value and importance of salt in the history of humanity and as a new art form, as well as to encourage the values utilized by other innovative artists working with different and extraordinary media. Reviews and features on her work have appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''The Wall Street Journal'', and the ''New York Post'', to name a few.

Books

*''Bettina Werner: Queen of Salt''. Milan, Leonardo Arte, 1999.

Periodicals

*VV. AA. (1993): "An Exhibition of Work by Contemporary Italian Artists", Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art Magazine *Gianluca Bauzano, (2000) "Bettina, The Manhattan Queen of Salt", ''Audry Magazine'' *Gianluca Bauzano, (1998) "Artisti Italiani a New York", ''Amica Magazine'' *Elisa Turner, (1991) "New Paintings by Bettina Werner", ''The Miami Herald'' *Marta Citacov, (1996) "Bettina Werner, Toccare con mano", ''L'Uomo Vogue'' *Francesca Bonazzoli, (1996) "Cristalli di sale nei colori di Bettina Werner", '' Corriere della Sera'' *Giorgio Bonomi, (1998) "Spazio, colore, superficie nella pittura di Bettina Werner", ''Arte in Umbria'' *Eleonora Attolico, (1998) "Americana per abilita' straordinarie", ''Soprattutto'' *Eleonora Attolico, (1999) "Tibino, la mia musa fedele", ''L'Espresso'' *Gina Avogadro, (1990) "Andiamo in barca al Museo", ''Il Giorno'' *Irene Silverman, (2003) "Bettina Werner: The Queen of Salt", ''The East Hampton Star'' *Antonio Carlucci, (2000) "Regina in mostra", ''L'Espresso Magazine'' *Marta Citacov, (2003) "Se il padrone e' un divo", '' GQ'' *Luisella Seveso, (2008) "Bettina, la Regina del Sale ha conquistato New York", ''Il Giorno'' *

Achille Bonito Oliva Achille Bonito Oliva (born 1939) is an Italian art critic and historian of contemporary art. Since 1968 he has taught history of contemporary art at La Sapienza, the university of Rome. He has written extensively on contemporary art and contempo ...

, (1991) "Bettina Werner at Marisa del Re Gallery New York",

Flash Art ''Flash Art'' is a contemporary art magazine, and an Italian and international publishing house. Originally published bilingually, both in Italian and in English, since 1978 is published in two separate editions, Flash Art Italia (Italian) and Fl ...

, no.161 *Maria Balliana (1989) "Bettina Werner, il sale dell'arte", ''Italia Oggi''

References

External links

Bettina-werner.comI quadri di sale di Bettina WernerA Saline Mind, The Movement of Bettina Werner by EinsteinBettina Werner/ Herbert and Dorothy Vogel CollectionPortrait of the Artist''s Muse: For Italian-born artist Bettina Werner, inspiration is always spot-on thanks to her beloved Dalmatian TIBINO

Bettina Werner e TIBINO. Chi sono? interviewThe Wall Street Journal PALACE OF THE SALT QUEEN by Sara LinBETTINA WERNER - THE QUEEN OF SALT interview
*[http://qn.quotidiano.net/cultura/2010/06/21/348321-cristalli_sale.shtml Cristalli di sale nei colori di BETTINA WERNER. Al 49esimo piano del 7 World Trade Center una retrospettiva che celebra 25 anni di creazioni della "Queen of Salt"]
Lower Manhattan/ A Tea with Bettina WernerLower Manhattan/ un te' con Bettina WernerIl Tributo della REGINA DEL SALE per l'11 settembreBettina Werner, The Salt Queen amazing women rock Interview with Bettina WernerInterview with Bettina Werner on Patrick McMullan's PMc MagazineLA VOCE DI NEW YORK: Bettina Werner Bettina Werner, Regina "dell’oro bianco" a VeneziaBettina Werner presents her newest salt crystal art collection to empower women in the eloquent Wall Street Down Town Association ClubIl sale della vita, il sale dell'arte. La mostra di Bettina Werner al Down Town Association Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Bettina 1965 births Artists from New York (state) Living people Artists from Milan Italian contemporary artists 20th-century Italian women artists 21st-century Italian women artists Brera Academy alumni 20th-century Italian painters 21st-century Italian painters 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Italian emigrants to the United States People with acquired American citizenship