Jenny Holzer expresses concern over French protests

American artist Jenny Holzer has expressed deep concern regarding the ongoing protests in France, specifically noting the struggles of young people fighting for better education, proper teacher pay, and improved school conditions. In an interview with T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Holzer remarked, “It’s gruesome that kids have to fight for a better education or for teachers to be paid properly, for their schools to be clean,” while also noting her worries for the safety of the participants.

Holzer’s comments coincide with her solo exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The exhibition utilizes LED panels and projections to display archival quotations from historical figures such as Émile Zola, Charles Baudelaire, Vincent van Gogh, and Auguste Rodin. Holzer noted that the historical messages felt strikingly contemporary, reflecting themes of devastation and vulnerability that mirror modern crises including war, hunger, the climate crisis, and wealth concentration.