Janet Werner (b. 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba) lives and works in Montreal, Quebec. She received her MFA from Yale University in 1987. Solo exhibitions include Parisian Laundry (Montreal), Galerie Julia Garnatz (Cologne), Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts (Montreal), Whatiftheworld Gallery (Cape Town) and Plug Institute of Contemporary Art (Winnipeg). Group exhibitions include AXENEO7 (Gatineau), MASS MoCA (North Adams), Musée d’art contemporain (Montreal), Kenderdine Art Gallery (Saskatoon). A solo survey exhibition entitled, “Another Perfect Day” organized by the Kenderdine Art Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, toured to five locations in Canada from 2013-2015, including the Esker Foundation (Calgary); the McIntosh Gallery, (Ontario); Galerie de l’UQAM (Montreal); and the Doris McCarthy Gallery (Toronto). Werner’s work is in the collections of the Musée du Québec, Musée d’art contemporain (Montreal), The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), Toronto, Owens Art Gallery (Sackville), the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, University of Lethbridge (Alberta), Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery and numerous private and corporate collections.
Janet Werner Call Me When You Start Wearing Red, 2023, Anat Ebgi, Installation view
About
Images
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Rider." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 63" x 58" [HxW] (160.02 x 147.32 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Janet-Werner_JW1134_1683065700.jpg)
Rider, 2023
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Tuxedo (red black)." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 36" x 24" [HxW] (91.44 x 60.96 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Janet-Werner_JW1135_1683065696.jpg)
Tuxedo (red black), 2023
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Untitled (kilter)." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 36" x 24" [HxW] (91.44 x 60.96 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Janet-Werner_JW1136_1683065693.jpg)
Untitled (kilter), 2023
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Beverly Laurel." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 59" x 96" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (149.86 x 243.84 x 4.12 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1125_1681413074.jpg)
Beverly Laurel, 2022
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Sacred Heart." This artwork was created in 2023 and measures 33" x 26" [HxW] (83.82 x 66.04 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1137_1681413066.jpg)
Sacred Heart, 2023
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Alice." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 76" x 60" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (193.04 x 152.4 x 4.12 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1116_1681413080.jpg)
Alice, 2022
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Blaise." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 31" x 24" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (78.73 x 60.96 x 4.12 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1128_1681413070.jpg)
Blaise, 2022
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Haddon." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 45" x 55" x 1 ¹⁄₄" [HxWxD] (114.3 x 139.69 x 3.17 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1132_1681413068.jpg)
Haddon, 2022
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Dorchester." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 82" x 67" [HxW] (208.28 x 170.18 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1126_1681413073.jpg)
Dorchester, 2022
![This image depicts an artwork by Janet Werner titled "Virgo." This artwork was created in 2022 and measures 24" x 20" x 1 ⁵⁄₈" [HxWxD] (60.96 x 50.8 x 4.12 cm). Its medium is Oil on canvas.](https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Janet-Werner_JW1122_1681413097.jpg)
Virgo, 2022
Cowboy with white hat, 2007
Oil on canvas
48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm
Neapolitan, 2020
Oil on canvas
76 x 60 inches / 193 x 152.4 cm
Lemieux, 2020
Oil on canvas
22 x 18 inches / 55.9 x 45.7 cm
Roxy, 2020
Oil on canvas
16 x 20 inches / 40.6 x 50.8 cm
Winona, 2020
Detail
Winona, 2020
Oil on canvas
84 x 67 inches / 213.4 x 170.2 cm
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Quebec, Installation view
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Quebec, Installation view
Bather (Blue Lips), 2018
Oil on canvas
84 x 67 inches / 213.4 x 170.2 cm
Anat Ebgi, Installation view
Anat Ebgi, Installation view
Anat Ebgi, Installation view
Anat Ebgi, Installation view
Anat Ebgi, Installation view
Oil on canvas
87.25 x 66.5 inches / 221.5 x 169 cm
Oil on canvas 66 x 53 inches / 167.5 x 134.5 cm
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Quebec, Installation view
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Quebec, Installation view
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Quebec, Installation view
Green Room, 2018
Oil on canvas
48 x 60" [HxW] (121.92 x 152.4 cm)
Inventory #JW1011
Bubble Girl, 2014
Oil on canvas
55 x 45 inches / 139.7 x 114.3 cm
Crying Eyes, 2011
Oil on canvas
87 x 67 inches / 221 x 170.2 cm
Dee (yellow dress), 2020
Oil on canvas
24 x 20 inches / 61 x 50.8 cm
Carter, 2020
Oil on canvas
26 x 33 inches / 66 x 83.8 cm
Twister, 2020
Oil on canvas
60 x 48 inches / 152.4 x 121.9 cm
Bauhaus, 2020
Oil on canvas
24 x 20 inches / 61 x 50.8 cm
AJ top, 2020
Oil on canvas
24 x 20 inches / 61 x 50.8 cm
Bungalow, 2020
Oil on canvas
31 x 24 inches / 78.7 x 61 cm
Girl with blue bow, 2020
Oil on canvas
44 x 36 inches / 111.8 x 91.4 cm
Lean (greenline), 2019
Oil on canvas
33 x 26 inches / 83.8 x 66 cm
Untitled (Claire), 2020
Oil on canvas
44 x 36 inches / 111.8 x 91.4 cm
Dolores (Girl with Flowered Hat and Landscape), 2018
Oil on canvas,
55 x 45 inches
Jane VV, 2018
Oil on canvas
36 x 29 inches / 91.4 x 73.7 cm
Goldie, 2018
Oil on canvas
44 x 36 inches
Exhibitions
Janet Werner: Call Me When You Start Wearing Red
Good Company: The Remix
Good Company: Pt. 1
Anat Ebgi | Minnesota Street Project
Janet Werner: The Splits
Janet Werner: The Splits
News
Janet Werner: Call Me When You Start Wearing Red
This show was selected as part of Los Angeles Oomph—a roundup of the best contemporary art exhibitions and events held by galleries, museums, and institutions in L.A. during February 2023 on the occasion of Frieze Los Angeles art fair. Curated by Mousse.
Mousse, February 2023
8 Must-See Gallery Solo Shows in February
Creating composite characters that speak to the complexity of women’s roles today, Werner successfully subverts the narrative by smartly revealing the psychological challenges of acting the parts that the media ultimately wants women to play. — Paul Laster
Galerie Magazine, February 2023
Janet Werner: Arsenal Contemporary Art
Every inch of the pieces on view here suggested that, and despite her gimlet eye for mass-market manipulations of femininity, she is more fascinated with what can come of the act of manipulating paint—more intent on producing pleasure than interrogating it, though interrogation can evidently be part of the pleasure. —Barry Schwabsky
Artforum, December 2022
Montreal artist reframes line between art and life in new show
“I’m actually a very formal, abstract painter. As much as there’s narrative and an interest in the figure (in my paintings), there’s also an equally strong interest in abstraction and aspects of formal painting.” —Janet Werner
Montreal Gazette, May 2021
Haute Disrupter
“It’s about the abstract qualities—the shapes, the colours, the textures...all that stuff that fashion designers play with. Marc Jacobs talks about storytelling, and there’s this interesting crossover between fashion and art and how they feed each other.” —Janet Werner
Elle Canada, February 2021
Between the glossies and the grotesque Janet Werner paints a world
Though she is capable of dashing off masterful paintings of classic beauties, Werner’s greatest strength is the way her inimitably warped perspective divulges so much more than any perfect lens could perceive. While her paintings reveal a tumult of ugly feelings lurking beneath their muses’ comely surfaces, they also ingeniously deflect ocular penetration. —Ara Osterweil
Border Crossings, June 2020
In the Studio with Janet Werner
"Fashion magazines became a source for my imaginary characters because they were adaptable to the idea of inventing characters. I liked that they weren’t real people - they aren’t specific - and I like this generic aspect of them." —Janet Werner
Arsenal Contemporary, March 2020
Janet Werner | Musée D’Art Contemporain Montréal
The artists's mother once shrewdly asked, "How does one go about putting one's best face forward, if one can never figure out which face that is?" Dwelling in the mysteries of this quandary, Werner is nonetheless capable of dazzling the viewer. Luckily for us, she asks us to face much more—and we do. —Ara Osterweil
Artforum, January 2020
Pictures of You: A conversation with Janet Werner on the shifting grounds of feminism, fashion, and portraiture
"I often have to destroy a portrait when it gets too photographic. I get angry and start undoing the portrait, removing or altering features, messing with the paint, in the process of which something else comes through. The closet expressionist in me comes out and I’m generally much more satisfied with the result." —Janet Werner
Canadian Art Magazine, December 2019
Janet Werner and the Portrait Reinvented at Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal
Werner turns the tables on her viewers – and ups the ante of her painting practice – by offering them a garden variety of distortions that are at once playful, surreal -- and which can and do result in a dangerous vertigo. — James D. Campbell
Whitehot Magazine, December 2019
Janet Werner presents a partial snapshot of the last decade of her work
"It’s still important to me that I have something I can hold in my hand. There’s a materiality to the photograph, to the magazine, to the experience of looking through magazines. I look through thousands of images before I find something that stimulates an idea." —Janet Werner
Concordia University, November 2019
Janet Werner
Rather than making pictures of girls, Werner is now making paintings about looking at pictures of girls. We begin to consider not only how her own work is constructed, but also how fashion operates, how girls and women make themselves up and how pretty is manufactured and spread throughout our culture —Erica Mendritzki
Border Crossings, January 2018
Janet Werner: Parisian Laundry
Although Werner proves that she can transform any objet trouvé into a captivating image, a chasm between what is and what might be nonetheless persists. In one fell swoop, Werner extends the long, limber arm of desire and bridges the gap. —Ara Osterweil
Artforum, December 2017
Janet Werner: Parisian Laundry
These works are not only an interesting rumination on the artistic process, but seem possessed of a certain willful instability, disrupting the nature of representation. —James D. Campbell
Frieze, October 2017
Janet Werner’s Truer Subject, the Woman Unseen
Werner’s constant subject is one that’s nearly missing. She frequently leaves an erased line, a taken-back figure, a specter of a different or a disappeared girl, the one she didn’t turn up. Her unresolved women – the ones rescinded – leave a trace that rings the ones that stayed. —Sky Goodden
MOMUS, February 2015
Janet Werner, Melanie Rocan, Tammy Salzi
Her [Janet Werner's] subjects are ready-made in the market: they come from the world of fashion and are statistically honed for mass-appeal. It's their obdurate blankness that's confrontational. —Marcus Miller
Border Crossings, September 2013
Someone Something Nothing: Some Thoughts on Janet Werner’s Recent Paintings
First and foremost, Werner's works are undeniably paintings; paintings about painting as a practice, painting as a way of viewing and engaging with the world, painting as a dialogue and critique. —John Kissick
Border Crossings, June 2013
Janet Werner | Review
To wit, Werner can be violent. In this show, she attempts her first nude, Sheila, 2011, and its slightly jaundiced body crumples around its nipples, which peer outward like those in Magritte’s Le Viol, 1934. If aesthetics will scrutinize bodies, implies Werner—in tones both political and classicist, for she is strongly sensitized to the canon of portraiture—these bodies must, in turn, stare out. They must devour. —David Balzer
Modern Painters, July 2012
Janet Werner | Who’s Sorry Now?
As we enjoy the sumptuous mass of writhing paint adorning and defining each subject, we also become what she wears: empty beauty swimming in the ultimate act of vanity, painting. Who's sorry now? —Cameron Skene
Border Crossings, September 2010
Janet Werner | ‘Too Much Happiness’
Montreal-based painter Janet Werner's exhibition of recent work displayed a tree combination of artistic forces: the creative muscle of a mature artist exploring, in depth, subject matter she is well known for, yet at the same time maintaining a high level of risk, presenting work energized by invention and full of surprises. —Clayton Bailey
Border Crossings, August 2008
Janet Werner: Up here in heaven
In her well-known portrait paintings, Janet Werner seems fascinated with what George Eliot, in Daniel Deronda calls pettishness: a peevish brattiness often characteristic of pretty, spoiled girls and (in a possible etymological connection) their pets—cats and toy dogs. —David Balzer
Canadian Art Magazine, March 2007
Janet Werner
These works are eloquent in their silences. Expression and palette set their mood swings in motion, and a measure of abjection, a sad truth of our lived experience, can be felt just underneath many of their reduced and beautifully painted surfaces. —James Campbell
Border Crossings, November 2005
Mute ability: Janet Werner changes the face of portraiture
"I always was trying to make beautiful paintings and I thought they were beautiful when they were good. Because of the way they were painted and the colour, and even if the image was difficult I was still trying to make it beautiful. Now I'm taking beautiful things and trying to make them interestingly difficult. Maybe the two are hopelessly intertwined." —Janet Werner
Border Crossings, August 2002
Janet Werner, Paint Person
Werner's deftness with light and shadow, the way her brush caresses and pokes around the mouth, the patina of warm tones on the ear—take your pick—something here should leave you aroused as both human animal and connoisseur, unless you're blind, prudish or both.
Canadian Art Magazine, June 2002
Janet Werner and Patrick Traer
Werner has contemporized the portrait, revealing how social engagement can collapse into cataleptic viewing of our own inner screens. —Betsy Warland
C Magazine, February 1998CV
Janet Werner
- 1959
- Born in Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Lives in Montréal, QC, Canada
Education
- MFA in Painting, Yale University, School of Art and Architecture, New Haven, CT, USA
- BFA in Painting, Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD, USA
Solo Exhibitions
- 2023
- Call Me When You Start Wearing Red, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2022
- Crush, Arsenal Contemporary, New York, NY
- 2021
- There There, Bradley Ertaskiran, Montréal, QC
- 2019
- Janet Werner, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, QC
- What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?, Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph, ON
- 2018
- The Splits, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2017
- Sticky Pictures, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- 2015
- Zero Eyes, Esther Massry Gallery, Albany, NY, USA
- Drop, drop slow tears, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- 2014
- Abby and Snow, Birch Contemporary, Toronto, ON
- 2013
- Another Perfect Day, touring exhibition, Kenderdine Gallery, Esker Foundation, Galerie de l’UQAM, MacIntosh Gallery, London, ON with catalogue
- 2012
- Mad Bad Glad Sad, What if the World Gallery, Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa
- Earthling, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- VOLTA NY, New York, NY
- 2011
- Beauty takes a holiday, Birch Libralato, Toronto, ON
- 2010
- Janet Werner, Julia Garnatz, Cologne, Germany
- Who’s Sorry Now? Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- 2009
- Is Anything Alright? Art Gallery of Windsor, Windsor, ON
- 2008
- Too much happiness, Parisian Laundry Montréal, QC
- New Work, Birch Libralato, Toronto, ON
- 2007
- Buttercup I love you, Galerie Julia Garnatz, Cologne, Germany
- 2006
- Up here in heaven, Birch Libralato Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Misfits, Galerie Joyce Yahouda, Montréal, QC
- 2005
- Janet Werner, Liane & Danny Taran Gallery, Saidye Bronfman Centre, Montréal, QC
- 2004
- Janet Werner, Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Janet Werner, Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, BC
- 2002
- Since first I cast eyes on you/ Depuis mon premier regard sur toi, Ottawa Art Gallery, Ottawa, ON
- Janet Werner, Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Since first I cast eyes on you, Tracy Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, BC
- 2001
- Janet Werner: New Work, Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, AB
- Janet Werner, The Gallery Art Placement, Saskatoon, SK
- 2000 Beautiful Losers (with Michael Fernandes), Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, SK
- New Work, Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Trust, Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON
- Trust, Estevan National Exhibition Center, Estevan, SK
- 1999
- Trust, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
- Portraits, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON
- Trance (with Patrick Traer), Plug In Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, MB
- Trust, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON
- New Paintings, Paul Kuhn Gallery, Calgary, AB
- Portraits, Tableau Vivant, Toronto, ON
- 1998 Trust, Optica, Montréal, QC
- Lucky, Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
- 1997
- Lucky, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, Lethbridge, AB
- Trance, The Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- Listen (with Beaty Popescu), AKA Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- 1996
- Slow Pictures, Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto, ON
- 1995
- Janet Werner/Kathleen Sellars* Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, N.S.
- Figures and Fields, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Gallery, Corner Brook, NF
- Scat, Galerie Axe NEO 7, Hull, QC
- 1994
- Lingua, La Centrale, Galerie Powerhouse, Montréal, QC
- 1992
- Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things, Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, SK
- 1991
- Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Calgary, AB
- 1990
- Paintings, Garnet Press Gallery, Toronto, ON
- 1989
- Rehearsing the World, Plug In Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, MB
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2023
- SHIFT: Ecologies of Fashion, Form and Textile, Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver, BC
- Feeling of Light, Almine Rech, Brussels, BE
- 2021
- North by Northeast: Contemporary Canadian Painting, Kasmin, New York, NY
- Keer Tanchak & Janet Werner: Romantik, Gallery 12.26, Dallas, TX
- Good Company: Pt.1, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- This Sacred Vessel pt.2, Arsenal Contemporary, New York, NY
- This Sacred Vessel pt.1, Arsenal Contemporary, New York, NY
- The Conversation, Anat Ebgi at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
- Flower Petal Tongues, curated by Corrie Jackson, Griffin Art Projects, Vancouver, BC
- 2017
- C’est ainsi qu’entre la lumière, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, QC
- 2016
- PDA Lovers, Four Six One Nine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Summertime in Paris: Solstice, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- Jupe bleue, une blonde, des calculatrices et un nu couché, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- 2015
- Her Story Today, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, Montréal, QC
- Summertime in Paris: Spectiveretro, Parisian Laundry, Montréal, QC
- 2014
- The Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
- Masquerade, Musée du Bas St Laurent, Rivière-du-Loup, QC
- 2013
- The Painting Project, curated by Louise Déry, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, QC
- Painting Perspectives curated by Jennifer Lefort, Axenéo 7, Gatineau, QC
- 2012
- Oh, Canada, curated by Denise Markonish, MassMoCA, North Adams, MA
- 2008
- Intrus/Intruders, curated by Melanie Boucher, Musée du Québec, Québec, QC
- Generation, curated by Catherine Crowston, Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
- Entre/Voir, curated by Louise Déry, UQAM, Montréal, QC
- 2007
- Some Girls, curated by James Campbell, McClure Gallery, Montréal, QC
- Framed: The art of the portrait, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
- 2006
- Peindre, Centre d’Exposition de Baie Sainte Paul, Baie Sainte Paul, QC
- 2005
- Individuation, Galerie Esthésio, Québec City, QC
- 2004
- Sweet and Sour, Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, BC
- 2003
- Prague Biennale, “ Lazarus Effect, “ Prague, Czech Republic
- Dog Days, Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
- Woman, James Baird Gallery, St. John's, NB
- 2002
- Posers, curated by Mathew Reichertz, St. Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax, NS
- Beautiful Stranger, curated by Mitch Robertson, The Physics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand (with Micah Lexier and Kelly Mark)
- Portraits - Robots, curated by Eric Simon, Galerie Graff, Montréal, QC
- 2001
- Defining the Portrait, curated by Sandra Paikowsky, Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal, QC
- 2000
- Tableau Vivant Gallery, curated by Wren Jackson, Toronto, ON
- Small Craft Warning, curated by Francois Dion, Gallery 101, Ottawa, ON
- 1999
- Les Peintures, Galerie René Blouin/Galerie Lilian Rodriguez, Montréal, QC
- Ten Years Later, Contemporary Art from the Collection of the Mendel Art Gallery, Swift Current National Exhibition Center, Swift Current, SK
- 1998
- Ten Years Later, Contemporary Art from the Collection of the Mendel Art Gallery, Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- Mixed Messages, Kenderdine Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- 1993 Anima <-> Materia, Kenderdine Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- The Heliotropic, I, curated by Jennifer McMackon, Mercer Union, Toronto, ON
- 1992
- Propositions/Painting, curated by Lucy Hogg, Charles Scott Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
- 1991
- Remembering and Telling: Reflections on Identity and Location, curated by Lynn Bell, Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
- 1990
- Memory and Subjectivity, curated by Janice Andrae, Garnet Press Gallery, Toronto, ON
- Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, ON
- Thunder Bay Art Gallery, Thunder Bay, ON
- Laurentian University Museum and Art Centre, Sudbury, ON
Collections
- Desjardins Collection, Montréal, QC
- McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
- Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, ON
- Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, QC
- Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Québec, QC
- Canadian Embassy in Berlin, Germany
- Collection of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON
- Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Montréal, QC
- Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
- Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, N.B.
- Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, SK
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB
- Kenderdine Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK
- University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
- Saskatchewan Arts Board, Regina, SK
- Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, ON
- Aldo Group Collection
- Claridge Collection
- Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec, QC
- Banque Nationale, Canada
- Private Collections Germany, Canada and USA
Awards
- 2015
- Vermont Studio Centre Fellowship
- 2012
- Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Development Grant
- 2011
- Canada Council project grant
- 2010
- Canada Council project grant
- 2007
- Canada Council project grant
- 2005
- Peindre, Symposium Internationale d’art Contemporain, Baie Sainte Paul, QC
- 2004
- Canada Council B Grant
- 2003
- Canada Council New York Studio, International Studio Program, NY, USA
- 2001
- Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, A Grant
- 1999
- Canada Council B Grant
- 1998
- Women and Paint thematic residency, The Banff Center
- Saskatchewan Arts Board B Grant
- 1996
- Canada Council B Grant
- 1995
- Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France, Canada Council Studio
- 1994
- Canada Council B Grant
- Leighton Studios, Banff, AB
- 1993
- Yaddo Artist Colony, Saratoga Springs, New York, Fellowship
- Saskatchewan Arts Board B Grant
- 1990
- Saskatchewan Arts Board B Grant
Press
- "Janet Werner “Call Me When You Start Wearing Red” at Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles", Mousse Magazine, 21 February, 2023 (Link)
- Laster, Paul, "8 Must-See Gallery Solo Shows in February", February 2023 (Link)
- Schwabsky, Barry, "Janet Werner", Arsenal Contemporary Art, NY, Review, Artforum, December 2022
- Osterweil, Ara, “Between the glossies and the grotesque Janet Werner paints a world,” Border Crossings Issue #153, 2020
- Osterweil, Ara, Janet Werner, Review, Artforum, January 2020
- Charon, Marie-Ève, “Secrets d’atelier avec Janet Werner et Anthony Burnham”, Le Devoir, 7 Octobre 2017
- Osterweil, Ara, Janet Werner, Review, Artforum, December 2017
- Osterweil, Ara, “Janet Werner,” Musee d’art contemporain de Montréal, Review, January 2020
- Campbell, James, Janet Werner, Review, Whitehot Magazine, December 2019
- Campbell, James, Janet Werner, Review, Frieze, Oct. 2017
- Petrowski, Nathalie, “Le détournement d’images de Janet Werner", 11 Septembre 2017
- Feldman, Melissa, "Pictures of You," Canadian Art, Winter 2019
- Goodden, Sky, “Janet Werner’s Truer Subject, the Women Unseen”, Momus, 25 February 2015
- Kissick, John, “Someone, Something, Nothing”, Border Crossings, June 2013
- Henry, Joseph, “REVIEW: Janet Werner Refashions the Female Form”, BLOUIN ARTINFO, 16 November 2013
- Jordan, Betty Ann : Janet Werner, Canadian House & Home, Fall 2012
- Balzer, David, “Janet Werner on What Makes a Good Painting, Artist Statements, Professionalization Pressures & More”, Canadian Art, 28 November 2012
- Balzer, David, “Janet Werner”, Modern Painters, Summer 2012
- “Transforming the Earthling – in conversation with Janet Werner”, M-KOS, 23 April 2012
- Skeene, Cameron, Janet Werner,, Border Crossings, 2010
- Ring, Nancy, “Awkward Beauty”, in Too Much Happiness, Parisian Laundry, 2008
- Sloan, Johanne, “Janet Werner and the Surface of Things,” Too Much Happiness, Parisian Laundry, 2008
- Dewolfe, Stacey, Women and animals, Mirror, 2010
- Baert, Renee, “Real Enough,” Janet Werner, SBC Gallery, 2008
- Balzer, David, “Up here in heaven”, Canadian Art, Spring 2007
- Cote, Nathalie, Et moi et moi et moi, Voir Quebec, July 7, 2005
- Crevier, Lyne, « Tout sucre », Ici Montréal, 14 July, 2005
- Tousignant, Isa, “Piece and Parcel: Janet Werner splits her portraits back into pieces”, Hour, 28, July 2005
- Lehmann, Henry, “A probing look at portraits”, The Montréal Gazette, 16 July 2005
- Lamarche, Bernard, « Portraits d’idéaux », Le Devoir, 14 August 2005
- Campbell, James, “Janet Werner”, Border Crossings, Winter 2005
- Dault, Julia, “Portraits of Pretend People,” The National Post, December 30, 2004
- Dault, Gary Michael, “Tawdry, exhausting and possibly brilliant”, The Globe and Mail, 1 May, 2004
- Osborne, Catherine, “Painter gets down to basics”, The National Post, 17 April 2004
- Hartland-Rowe, Sara, “Around and About Painting”, Border Crossings, Winter 2003
- Ghaznavi, Corinna, “Surfacing: Janet Werner at Robert Birch”, Dart, Fall 2002
- Reichertz, Mathew, Posers, St. Mary’s University Art Gallery, 2002
- Baert, Renee, Since first I cast eyes on you/Depuis mon premier regard sur toi, Ottawa Art Gallery, 2002
- Enright, Robert, “Mute Ability: Janet Werner changes the face of portraiture”, Border Crossings, Summer 2002
- Elliott, David, “Paint person”, Canadian Art, Summer 2002
- “Painting as Patchwork”, The Globe and Mail, 23 September, 2000
- Mark, Lisa, “The Language of Eyes” in Trust, Art Gallery of Mississauga, 2000
- Keindl, Anthony, Beautiful Losers, Dunlop Art Gallery, 2000
- Budney, Jen, "Small Craft Warnings," Parachute 100, 2000
- Laurence, Robin, “Face Off”, Border Crossings, Winter 1999
- Lee, James-Jason, “Trust puts Gallerygoers’ faith to test,” Georgia Straight, Aug. 5-12, 1999
- Enright, Robert, “Head Games”, The Globe and Mail, 20 November 1999
- “Portraits that hide much more than they reveal”, The Globe and Mail, 17 April 1999
- Severson, Anne, “Unusal portraits of our time” (review), Fast Forward, Calgary, June 3 - 9, 1999
- Massier, John, “Trust”, Lola, Summer 1999
- Evans, Gary, “Trust,” Lola, Issue #4, Summer 1999
- Warland, Betsy, “Patrick Traer and Janet Werner”, C Magazine, Spring 1998
- Ring, Dan, Trance, Mendel Art Gallery, 1998
- Maclear, Kyo, “Blurred vision,” Toronto Life, April 1999
- Williamson, Janice, “Scat”, in Janet Werner, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Art Gallery, 1998
- O’Neill, Colleen, “Figures and fields”, in Janet Werner, Sir Wilfred Grenfell Art Gallery, 1998
- Mark, Lisa, “Getting our hands dirty”, C Magazine, Fall 1998
- Baerwaldt, Wayne, Trance, Mendel Art Gallery, 1998
- Tousley, Nancy, “First Language”, Canadian Art, Fall 1997
- Laing, Carol, “The Silence of the World” in Lucky, Southern Alberta Art Gallery, 1997
- Lilburn, Tim, “Angels of History”, Border Crossings, Fall 1997
- Morin, Manon, Lingua, La Centrale, Galerie Powerhourse, 1994
- Blatherwick, David, « Peindre les failles du Langage », Spirale, March 1995
- Liss, David, “La Centrale/Galerie Powerhouse...” (review), The Gazette, Montréal, Nov. 26, 1994
- McMackon, Jennifer, The Heliotropic, Mercer Union, 1993
- Hogg, Lucy, Propositions/Painting, Charles Scott Gallery, 1992
- Lilburn, Tim, “Clear Suspicions”, Border Crossings, Winter 1992
- Grenville, Bruce, Reflections on Language and the Appearance of Things, Mendel Art Gallery, 1991
Videos
Janet Werner: Call Me When You Start Wearing Red
Artist Talk by Janet Werner and conversation moderated by writer and curator Ashton Cooper.
February 2023