gordon robichaux
Gordon Robichaux is honored to participate in That ’70s Show with a presentation of Juju Box sculptures by Janet Olivia Henry dating from the mid to late 1970s. Each work consists of a container made out of a Japanese Washi paper box, a basket, a clear vinyl bag, or a cookie tin, which Henry carefully packed with miniatures, trinkets, and personal effects. She selected and grouped the objects according to a color scheme, theme, or to the specific person to whom the box is dedicated. The earliest of these sculptures were created as gifts and included doll figurines and small objects. Henry recalls, “When I made them for other people, I picked things that I knew or thought they’d like."
The first of the artist’s Juju Box sculptures was a present for David Jackson—a writer and friend the artist met through their association with JAM (Just Above Midtown). Others include a box dedicated to the artist’s mother; one packed with miniature “black” baby dolls; and another related to Henry’s personal history, featuring a small bow from childhood shoes she wore on her return from Antigua.
The Juju Boxes were inspired by Henry’s life-long engagement with collecting miniatures and dolls, and her relationship to Juju—an African and Afro-diasporic spiritual tradition in which objects are associated with magical powers. The word “juju” is thought to be derived from the French word joujou (“plaything”), and Henry’s interest in toys lies in their potential for storytelling. She explains, “My work, it’s social commentary. What I found is that American culture had been replicated in miniature” and “with the Juju boxes, anyone could create their own magic—whatever paradise or fantasy a person desires.”
The majority of Henry’s Juju Boxes were gifted to friends or sold in the gift shop at Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning during the 1970s and are now lost. Others were disassembled by the artist and incorporated into different artworks. As Henry notes, “I realized that the dolls could be used separately to tell stories.” These include the iconic dioramas Henry made in the early 1980s, two of which were recently exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, as part of the exhibition Just Above Midtown: Changing Spaces (2022).
Alongside the Juju Boxes on display in That ’70s Show, Gordon Robichaux will present exhibition prints made from slide documentation of two lost works from the series.
In November 2024, Janet Olivia Henry will present her first solo exhibition at Gordon Robichaux.
Janet Olivia Henry (b. 1947; East Harlem, New York) is an artist and educator who lives and works in Jamaica, Queens, New York. She was educated at the School of Visual Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and received a fellowship in education from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In partnership with filmmaker Linda Goode Bryant, Henry designed and produced Black Currant, a magazine that highlighted the experimental work of artists who were showcased by the Just Above Midtown gallery (JAM). She was a member of the Women’s Action Coalition (WAC), a feminist open alliance that sought to address issues of women’s rights through direct action. She participated in WAC’s drum corps and currently co-leads a Project EATS drumming group.
Henry is a life-long educator and has worked at the New York State Council on the Arts, the Studio Museum in Harlem’s education department, the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, the Lower Eastside Girls Club, Children’s Art Carnival, and the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School.
Henry has exhibited work at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; New Museum, New York; Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Gordon Robichaux, New York; STARS, Los Angeles; Candice Madey, New York; Newark Museum, New Jersey; Artists Space, New York; P·P·O·W Gallery, New York; and Just Above Midtown, New York. Her work has been reviewed and featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Hyperallergic, and Smithsonian Magazine, among others.
In 2023, the Museum of Modern Art acquired Henry’s 1982-83 sculpture The Studio Visit.
Gordon Robichaux is a gallery and curatorial agency that nurtures and promotes underrecognized and emerging artists and offers new perspectives on established artists. Founded by artists Sam Gordon and Jacob Robichaux, the program is informed by their shared interest in collaboration and interdisciplinary practices. Gordon Robichaux develops and presents exhibitions, performances, readings, publications, and multiples; supports artists with special projects; works closely with nonprofit organizations; and participates in art fairs to cultivate new audiences.
Juju Box for Myself, c. 1976
Janet Olivia Henry
Found Objects
Dimensions Variable
Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY
Photo Ryan Page
Aviary Juju Box, c. 1978
Janet Olivia Henry
Found Objects
Dimensions Variable
Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY
Photo Ryan Page
Juju Box (Soho Survival Kit), c. 1978
Janet Olivia Henry
Documentation image from 35mm slide; artwork destroyed
Digital c-print
Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY
Photo Ryan Page
Juju Box (PESTS wheat pasting), c. 1978
Janet Olivia Henry
Documentation image from 35mm slide; artwork destroyed
Digital c-print
Courtesy Gordon Robichaux, NY
Photo Ryan Page
Contact Us
Contact
Gordon Robichaux
41 Union Square West, #925 and #907
New York, NY 10003
(646) 678-5532
Events
May 2–5, 2024
4 Great Jones St., 3rd + 4th Fl, New York, 10012
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