Born in Milan, Italy, 1965
Studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Art, in Milan, Italy
She lives and works in New York

"The sacredness and dignity of Salt! This mineral has power like the four elements. So universal, so necessary to life, it is the fifth element...a symbol of life and the most desirable qualities in the human personality." When Bettina Werner first started to paint she wanted to find a unique, particular material that would be her signature tool for artistic expression -- something that would bring to her work its own inherent qualities of history, culture and symbolic meaning while at the same time be beautiful to look at. While studying at the Brera Academy of Fine Art in Milan, Werner found salt to be just the element she was looking for a wonderfully textural, transparent crystal that represents so much history, value and philosophic meaning.

Werner became intrigued by the value of salt throughout ancient history. A person of particular worth or with wisdom historically had "salt in the head" or was a "man of salt." In ancient Russia, salt was placed inside coffins to signifiy the incorruptibility of the dead, while in Scotland, the custom was to measure three handfuls of salt into a plate and place it on the breast of a corpse. Salt is burned as part of the Chinese New Year's celebration to determine the year's luck. And as the following ancient tale records, in cultures throughout the world, salt has held more worth than gold: "It is said that a desert robber broke into the palace of an oriental ruler, and as he was hurriedly departing with his rich loot, he stumbled over a crock of salt in the pantry, at which point he threw away the treasure and took the salt instead."

Discovering salt to be her own treasure, Werner began studying combinations of textures and colors with salt crystals to maximize different results and develop her art more completely. She would later patent her technique for processing and coloring salt.

Werner's admiration of the Bauhaus generation of artists and the philosophy of "less is more" is the other driving force behind her diverse body of works, taking the form of paintings, sculptures and functional pieces of art, such as her salt bed and "Werisbetty" canary yellow salt tables. Werner re-interprets the concept of minimalism with the warmth and texture she derives from creating with salt. "Over the past ten years of working with salt, I have found that while my technique constantly takes me in new directions, my creations always retain the essential pulse and rhythym that emanates from this timeless medium."

The unique, personal language of Werner's salt paintings and her invention of the treatment of salt with color, quickly brought the "Queen of Salt" great acknowledgment in Europe. Her success in revering salt in glorious colors led Werner to the U.S. in 1989 and one year later she started showing her artwork with the prestigious Marisa Del Re Gallery in the Fuller Building, located on 57th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Today, Werner's pieces are part of collections throughout the country including the Chase Manhattan Bank, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Collection of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Collection of Martin Margulies of Miami.

1998 Live a Life Full of Love with Both Feet Planted Firmly on Salt, Pucci International, New York
1996 Toccare con mano, Fabia Calvasina Gallery, Milan
1995 Five Years Together, Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1994 David Klein Gallery, Michigan, Detroit
1993 Martin Margulies Taplin Gallery, Miami
1993 Galleria del Cortile, Rome, Italy
1992 O.K.Harris/David Klein Gallery, Michigan, Detroit
1991 Martin Margulies Taplin Gallery, Bay Harbor Island, Florida
1991 Rocca Paolina Museum, Perugia, Italy
1991 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1990 Severiarte, Bologna, Italy (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1989 Galleria Milano, Milan, Italy
1989 Nadia Bassanese Gallery, Trieste, Italy

1998 Women Artists in The Vogel Collection
1998 Brenau University Galleries, Gainesville, Georgia (curated by Jean Westmacott, essays by Ruth E. Fine and Molly Donovan)
1997 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1997 VI Biennale de Sculpture, Montecarlo
1997 "Absolut Secret", Royal College of Art, London
1997 Festival di Bomarzo, Bomarzo, Italy (curated by Simonetta Lux and Miriam Mirolla)
1997 Celebri Kiss, Trussardi Foundation, Milan (curated by Samuele Mazza, catalgue Leonardo Arte)
1997 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1997 Flowers, Sala Lancisi, Rome
1997 Madrenatura, Palazzo dei Martinitt, Milan ( Prearo Catalogue )
1996 Close to home, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, New York (curated by Susan Hoeltzel)
1996 One,Foundation Art Gallery,New York
1996 Fabia Calvasina Gallery,Milan
1995 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1995 In Khan Gallery, New York
1995 Galleria del Cortile, Rome, Italy
1995 Minimal Optimal, Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York (text by Maia Damianovic)
1995 Cinderella's Revenge, Traveling Exhibition: (curated by Samuele Mazza,catalogue Chronicle Books): Lane Crawford, Hong Kong; Lane Crawford, Singapore; Niccoli Gallery, Parma, Italy; Passage de retz Marais, Paris
1994 Cristinerose Gallery, New York
1994 Smith's Gallery, Covent Garden, London
1994 Jeddah Exhibition Center, Saudi Arabia
1994 The Work of Contemporary Artist in Private Collections in Milan, Palazzo Delle Stelline, Milan (Catalogue Mazzotta)
1994 First Biennal de Sculpture 94, Amsterdam, Holland
1994 The Spirit of New York, Sesto Calende Museum, Italy (curated by Florence Lynch)
Inaugural Exhibition, ArtNation, inc., New York (curated by Florence Lynch)
1994 Luce per l'arte e arte per la luce, Studio Pollice, Milan
1993 IV Biennal De Sculpture, Monte Carlo
1993 Arte Poetica, Frederick R.Weisman Museum of Art, Malibu (catalogue text by Nora Halpern )
1993 Continuing Generations, Annina Nosei Gallery, New York
1993 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1993 Living Art Gallery, Milan
1993 The Linear Image II, Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1992 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1992 Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam
1992 Martin Margulies Taplin Gallery, Miami
1992 International Symposium of Marble, Thassos, Greece (Catalogue text by Emmy Varouxaki)
1992 Artae, Church of Sainte Carpoforo, Milan (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1992 De Europa, Centro degli Artisti, Rome (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1992 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1992 The Spirit, Snug Harbor Art Museum, Staten Island,N.Y. (catalogue text by Olivia Georgia)
1992 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1991 III Biennal De Sculpture, Monte Carlo
1991 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1991 De Europa, Athens Museum, Athens, Greece
1991 De Europa, La Salerniana Museum, Erice, Sicily,Italy (Catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1991 Artae , Centro Congressi, Ferrara, Italy (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1991 Arie, Fonti del Clitunno, Spoleto, Italy (catalogue text by Achille Bonito Oliva)
1990 Influences, Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1990 The Square, Nohra Haime Gallery, New York
1990 Tornvall Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
1990 Arte Giovane, Flash Art, Milanv (catalogue curated by Flash Art Magazine)
1990 Marisa Del Re Gallery, New York
1989 Milano punto uno, Traveling Exhibition: Studio Marconi, Milan; Mara Coccia Gallery, Rome; Nicola Verlato Gallery, Bologna,Italy; La Polena Gallery, Genova, Italy; La Nuova Bussola Gallery, Torino, Italy
1989 Cafiso Gallery, Milan (curated by Tommaso Trini)
1989 Artelago, Monate Lake, Italy (catalogue text by Giuseppe Panza Di Biumo, Simonetta Gorreri, Michel Baudson)
1989 Gallery Night, Milan
1988 Quattro idee di un mondo, Studio Bocchi, Rome
1988 FeriArt 1988, Ville de Nimes, France
1988 Scolio I, International Biennal, with Arnaldo Pomodoro and Francesco Leonetti, Castel dell'Ovo, Naples, Italy
1988 Scolio II, Rotonda della Besana, Milan with Arnaldo Pomodoro and Francesco Leonetti
1987 Tutto, Galleria Extra, Taranto, Italy
1986 Galleria Pero, Milan Italy

Chase Manhattan Bank
The Detroit Museum
The Collection of Herbert and Dorothy Vogel at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The Collection of Martin Margulies of Miami

Abbate, Fulvio. Quattro idee di un mondo. Alfabeta, no.108 (1988)
Attolico, Eleonora. Vestiremo alla Crudelia. L'Espresso, (December 12, 1996)
Avogadro, Gina. Andiamo in barca al museo. Il Giorno (October 7, 1990)
Avogadro, Gina. Il Sale di Bettina. Via (February, 1996).
Balliana, Maria. Bettina Werner, il sale dell'arte. Italia Oggi (October 12, 1989).
Barbera, Lucio. Astrazione Forte. Apeiron (December 1991).
Bettina Werner. Arts Magazine (December 1991).
Bonazzoli, Francesca. Cristalli di Sale nei colori di Bettina Werner. Corriere della Sera (February 1,1996).
Bonomi, Giorgio. Spazio, colore, superficie nella pittura di Bettina Werner. Artinumbria (1988).
Cesana Trovellesi, Laura. Essere artisti a New York. New York Italia (August 1994).
Citacov, Marta. Da Miro` a Botero. L'Indipendente (April 15, 1993).
Citacov, Marta. Tra vecchio e nuovo, tutte le novita` dell'arte giovane. Il Giornale (September 5,1989).
Citacov, Marta. Toccare con mano. Uomo Vogue (February,1996 ).
Cobolli Gigli, Nicoletta. Scelti dai critici gli artisti Italiani dell'anno. Arte (December 1990).
Di Capua, Marco. Il futuro nell'area fredda. Il Giornale (September 22, 1991)
Di Fonzo, Paola. Le opere della milanese Bettina Werner alla Marisa Del Re Gallery. America Oggi (January 1995).
Di Fonzo, Paola. L'arte? questione di sale. Italiani (February, 1995 ).
Flash Art speciale arte giovane. Flash Art Magazine, no 158 (1990)
Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art: An Exhibition of Work by Contemporary Italian Artists. Center for the Arts Magazine (Fall 1993).
Fressola, Michael. Italian Works now at New House. Center Punch (December 13, 1992).
Galletta, Alessandra. Maurizio Mochetti, Maurizio Camerani, Bettina Werner. Tema Celeste (Fall 1991).
I Cento Artisti Italiani dell'anno. Arte (December, 1993). ---Giapponesi, Greci, Americani, giovani da tutto il mondo a Brera. La Repubblica (June 20, 1986)
Passato e presente creano un nuovo stile. La Repubblica delle donne ( N.38, 1997 )
L'Arte galleggia sul lago. Corriere della Sera (September 30, 1990)
La provincia di Perugia scommette sull'arte contemporanea per una politica espositiva di livello >internazionale. La Nazione (July 10, 1991).
Leonetti, Francesco. In un grande avvio: versi di circostanza. Alfabeta, no 108 (1988).
Lombardi, Ada. L'eclettismo filosofico del marmo. Segno (April 1991)
Mariani, Paola. La minimal art seduce New York. Paese Sera (October 2, 1993).
Menna, Filiberto. La questione del nuovo e l'uscita dal postmoderno. Figure, no 2 (December 1988).
Minore, Renato. Un critico agrario per giovani scultori. Il Messaggero (July 3, 1991).
Bettina Werner. L'artista del sale. Madame Class Figaro ( Giugno 1996 )
Mirolla, Miriam. Bettina Werner. Flash Art (January 1994).
Mojana, Marina. The Spirit of New York. Il Sole 24 ore (June 19,1994).
Muritti, Elisabetta. Alla ricerca della semplicita` perduta. Donna (March 1989).
Muritti, Elisabetta. In galleria l'artista espone con il critico. Il Giornale (February 16,1989).
Opening of the Exhibition: Five Years Together. NewYorkItalia (February 1996)
Pellizzola, Gilberto. Bettina Werner, l'elemento minerale crea cifre organizzate che disciplinano lo spazio. Flash Art (Summer 1990).
Peretti, Alberto. Lady in Art, interview with Marisa Del Re. Vogue (August 1994)
Quaroni, Grazia. Le donne dell'arte. MarieClaire (October 1991)
Quaroni, Grazia. Arte Giovane. Flash Art (November 1990).
Raynor, Vivien. A Show by Contemporary Italian Artist. The New York Times (Sunday, December 6, 1992).
Ruggeri, Flavia. Una meditazione spaziale cosmica. Paese Sera (June 7, 1988).
Sacca`, Lucilla. Bettina Werner in una foto di Luca Carra`. Juliet (Summer 1990).
Sacchi, Giuseppe. Spiritualita` dell'arte. America Oggi (December 21, 1992).
Sbisa`, Annamaria. Metti il sale sull'arte. Panorama (February 1, 1996).
Serafini, Giuliano. Thassos dei marmi. Terzo Occhio (September 1992).
Solbiati, Micaela. Bettina Werner. Elle (April 1991).
Sterling, Wayne. Bettina Werner, Italy Painter. One World (1995).
Tassinari, Valeria. Bettina Werner, stato di sale. Titolo, no.2 ( Fall 1990).
Tedeschi, Francesco. Gli artisti vanno al lago sull'acqua. Il Giornale (October 7, 1990).
Tondini, Angelo. La terza Biennale di scultura a Monte Carlo. Gente Viaggi (Summer 1991).
Trilogia I: Mochetti-Camerani-Werner. Flash Art (Summer 1991).
Turner, Elisa. New Paintings by Bettina Werner. The Miami Herald (February 1991).
Venturoli, Marcello. Tutti i colori e le forme del profondo mare. Avanti (June 12, 1988).
Vettese, Angela. Indagine di tre giovani sulle strutture dell'operare. Il Sole24ore (March 19, 1989).
A new Vietnam. Vogue ed.italian. (September, 1996)
Werner alla Severiarte. Il Resto del Carlino (May 19, 1990).
Zimmer, William. Honoring women as keepers of the home. The New York Times (October 20, 1996)

A.A.V.V. Bettina Werner, Arte Contemporanea Italiana. De Agostini, Italy, 1996
A.A.V.V. Bettina Werner, Arte Contemporanea Italiana. Fenice 2000, Italy, 1995
A.A.V.V. Bettina Werner, Arte Contemporanea Italiana. Fenice 2000, Italy, 1994
Abbate, Fulvio, curator. Quattro idee di un mondo. Rome, Italy, 1988
Argan, Giulio Carlo. L'Arte Moderna. Florence: Sansoni, 1990
Bassanese, Nadia. Tre Artisti e Tre Critici. Trieste, Italy, 1989
Biennale Sculptoor '94. Amsterdam: Het Parool, 1994
Berchicci, Guglielmo. Flowers. Rome, Italy, 1997
Bonito Oliva, Achille, curator. Arie. Italy: Cartesegrete, 1991
Bonito Oliva, Achille, curator. Artae. Milan: Prearo, 1991
Bonito Oliva, Achille, curator. De Europa. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Arte, 1991
Bonito Oliva, Achille. Cosi` lo stato dell'arte. Rome: Leonardo De Luca, 1991
Damianovic, Maia. Minimal Optimal. New York: Elga Wimmer Gallery, 1995
Del Re, Marisa. IV Biennale de Sculpture, Monte Carlo 1993. Monaco: B & C Communication, 1993
Friedman, Alan and Marco Gregoretti. Artisti degli ultimi anni nelle collezioni private milanesi. Milan: Mazzotta, 1994
Girotti, Eugenia. Footwear, Fifty Years History. Milan: BE-MA ed., 1995
Georgia, Olivia. Lo Spirito: New Art from Italy. Staten Island: Snug Harbor Museum, New York, 1992
Giudici, Lorella. Madrenatura, Milan : Prearo, 1997
Gribaudo, Paola. Bettina Werner's Dalmations Calendar, Torino, 1997
Halpern, Nora. Arte Poetica. Malibu: Frederick R.Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University, 1993
Hoeltzel, Susan. Close to home. Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY, 1996
Leonetti, Francesco. La vita e gli amici. Lecce: Piero Manni, 1992
Mango, Lorenzo. Giorgio Bonomi, curator. Trilogia I: Mochetti, Camerani, Werner. Perugia, Italy, 1991
Mazza, Samuele, curator. Cinderella's Revenge, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1995
Mazza, Samuele, curator. Blazing/Eyes, Milan: Idea Books, 1995
Mazza, Samuele, curator. Contenitorio, Milan: Idea Books, 1996
Menna, Filiberto. Bettina Werner. Milan, Italy: Galleria Milano, 1989
Milano-Poesia. Rotonda della Besana. Milan: ed.Intrapresa, Italy, 1988
Panza Di Biumo, Giuseppe, Michel Baudson, Lucilla Sacca`, Simonetta Gorreri, Achille Bonito Oliva and Flaminio Gualdoni. Artelago. Monate Lake, Italy, 1991
Pomodoro, Arnaldo, Bettina Werner and Francesco Leonetti. Scolio I. Castel dell'Ovo. Naples: ed. Electa, 1988
Restany, Pierre. III Biennale de Sculpture Monte Carlo 1991. Torino: Stamperia Artistica Nazionale, 1991
Varouxaky, Emmy, curator. International Symposium of Marble Sculpture. Thassos, Greece, 1992
Venturoli, Marcello, curator. Mare Mare. Naples: Electa, 1988
Werner, Bettina. Toccare con mano. Milan: Fabia Calvasina Gallery, 1996

Bettina Werner