Born in 1936 in New York, Joan Jonas is an acclaimed video and multimedia performance artist.
She received a BA in Art History and Sculpture from Mount Holyoke College in 1958 and an MFA
from Columbia University in 1965. In works that examined space and perceptual phenomena, her
work merges elements of dance, modern theater, the conventions of Japanese Noh and Kabuki
theater, and the visual arts.
Jonas has exhibited and performed extensively around the world. Her notable exhibition history
includes Documenta 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 13; the 28th Sao Paolo Biennial; the 5th Kochi-Muziris
Biennale; and the 13th Shanghai Biennale. She has recently presented solo exhibitions at the
United States Pavilion for the 56th Edition of the Venice Biennial; Tate Modern, London; Museu
Serralves, Porto; Pinacoteca de São Paulo; Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Dia Beacon;
and the Haus der Kunst, Munich. The Museum of Modern Art in New York will host a retrospective
of her work from March 17 to July 6, 2024. Jonas is the recipient of many awards including The
Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon (2016); the Maya Deren Award given by the American Film Institute
(1989); and the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
(2009). In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious Kyoto Prize, presented to those individuals who
have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind.