Jenny Holzer's "Dust Paintings" in Chelsea Leave a Solid Impact

Jenny Holzer, is a contemporary conceptual artist (b. Amer. 1950.)  Conceptual art is construed as potent social, political commentary.  Conceptual artists work in a multitude of mediums to express their intent.  Holzer's most recent works "Memory & Regret: Dust Paitings" are on view @ the Cheim & Read Gallery.  The 1st room is arresting; figuratively & literally.  The darkened room accentuates the audio/visual installation suspended from the ceiling. It has a fleeting text in flashing, white lettering on a black monitor.  Deciphering the message demands attention.  The word security stood out.  There is a pervasive siren sound.  The combined effect paired with the only other piece in the room, a large black/white painting, stirs up the tension of a police interrogation.  Holzer may be referencing the killings of black teen - Brown by a white officer in Ferguson or Martin - murdered by a white man exonerated of the crime.  It also references racial profiling.  The large, well lit gallery is deceptively more disturbing.  Holzer managed to obtain transcripts of interrogations of Muslim prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay.  These men were interrogated & tortured with methods referred to as water boarding.  The texts on these paintings are verbatim transcripts with blackened censorship markings.  Jamal Nasser the prisoner who died while in custody is apparent.  The paintings resemble headstones with snowflakes or rushing water.  The final 2 galleries offer a respite from the macabre art.  Here Holzer's Mondrian style paintings have cheery colored lines & shapes. Tragically, our current military consequences in Iraq/Afghanistan stem from Bush/Cheny's hawkish invasions.  The message of concealment or disseminating of sensitive information is more obscured by hued aesthetic of the paintings.  Holzer's "Dust Paintings" are disturbing & provocative and serve as tangible, repentant reminders.