Janet Werner (born 1959) is a Canadian artist based in Montreal. Her work is known for its incisive and playful depictions of female figures, raising questions about the nature of the subject in painting.

Biography

Janet Werner was born in 1959 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, and currently resides in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, where she teaches at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. Werner studied at the

Maryland Institute College of Art The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a Private university, private art school, art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, it is regarded as one of ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and, in 1985 she received her

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

. Later, she studied at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, where she received her

Masters of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admin ...

in 1987. From 1987 to 1999 she taught painting and drawing at the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

, in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Work

Werner is known primarily for her large scale fictional portraits. She has been focusing on the genre since 1997. Werner explores themes of subjectivity and desire by producing composites of found images. Recent paintings have explored painting's relationship to ideas of realism and the photograph. It can be said that the artist uses painting to deconstruct the ubiquity of the photographic image.

Collections

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (), abbreviated as MNBAQ, is an art museum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The museum is located in National Battlefields Park and is a complex of four buildings. Three of them were purpose-built for ...

*Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal *

Mackenzie Art Gallery The MacKenzie Art Gallery (MAG; ) is an art museum located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The museum occupies the multipurpose T. C. Douglas Building, situated at the edge of the Wascana Centre. The building holds eight galleries totaling to of ...

*Regina Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick *

Remai Modern Remai Modern is a public art museum in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The art museum is situated along the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River, at the River Landing development in Central Business District, Saskatoon, Saskatoon's Central Bu ...

(Formerly, Mendel Art Gallery), Saskatoon *

Dunlop Art Gallery The Regina Public Library is the citywide public library system of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Regina Public Library is established under the provisions of ''The Public Libraries Act'', 1996. The general management, regulation, and control ...

, Regina *Owens Art Gallery,

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

, Sackville *

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

Kenderdine Art Gallery The College of Agriculture and Bioresources is a faculty at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It has an annual budget of $38 million and an enrolment of approximately 1,000 students studying at the diploma, undergraduat ...

, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

Exhibitions

Werner exhibited at the Art Gallery of Guelph in 2019.

Selected exhibitions

* 1989, ''Paintings'', AKA Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. * 1989 ''Rehearsing the World'', Plug In Inc, Winnipeg, Manitoba. * 1990. 1990 ''Paintings'', Garnet Press Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. * 1991 ''Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things'',

Mendel Art Gallery The Mendel Art Gallery was a major creative cultural centre in City Park, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Operating from 1964 to 2015, it housed a permanent collection of more than 7,500 works of art. The gallery was managed by the city-owned Saskatoon ...

, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. *1991 ''Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things'', Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, Alberta. *1992 ''Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things'',

Dunlop art Gallery The Regina Public Library is the citywide public library system of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Regina Public Library is established under the provisions of ''The Public Libraries Act'', 1996. The general management, regulation, and control ...

, Regina, Saskatchewan. *1994 ''Lingua'', la Central, Galerie Powerhouse, Montreal, Quebec. *1995 ''Scat'', Galerie Axe NEO 7, Hull, Quebec. *1995 ''figures and fields'', Sir Wilfred Grenfell Gallery, Corner Brook, Newfoundland. *1995, ''Janet Werner / Katherine Sellars*'' Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. *1996, ''Slow Pictures'', Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto. *1997, ''Listen'', AKA Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. *1997, ''Trance'' *, Mendel Gallery, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (catalogue). *1997, ''Lucky'',

Southern Alberta Art Gallery The Southern Alberta Art Gallery Maansiksikaitsitapiitsinikssin (or SAAG) is a contemporary art gallery located in downtown Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It has three gallery spaces and a gift shop. History In 1974, local residents formed the Sout ...

, Lethbridge, Alberta (catalogue) *1998, ''Lucky'',

Owens Art Gallery Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

, Sackville, New Brunswick. *1998, ''trust'', Optica, Montreal, Quebec. *1999, ''Janet Werner'', Paul kuhn Gallery, Calgary, Alberta. *1999, ''Janet Werner'', Tableau Vivant Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. *1999, trust, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario. *1999, ''Janet Werner'', Tableau Vivant Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. *1999, Janet Werner, Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, Alberta. *2018, ''The Splits'', Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, California *2023, ''Call Me When You Start Wearing Red'', Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, California

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

Notes

External links

Janet Werner: By All Appearances

Janet Werner gets real: Piece and parcel

Janet Werner "Who's Sorry Now at Parisian Laundry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Janet 1959 births Living people Artists from Winnipeg Canadian women painters 20th-century Canadian women artists