Monika Sosnowska's "1:1", at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Courtesy the artist, Foksal Gallery Foundation, The Modern Institute, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Kurimanzutto, Hauser & Wirth
Polish artist, Monika Sosnowska has been nominated for the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize, awarded every two years by the Guggenheim Museum in New York
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has announced six finalists for its 2012 Hugo Boss Prize. The $100,000 prize, named for the German men's wear company that sponsors it, is given every two years to an individual who has made an important contribution in contemporary art. In addition to cash, the winner is awarded an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The international finalists include:
Trisha Donnelly (b. 1974, San Francisco)
Rashid Johnson (b. 1977, Chicago)
Qiu Zhijie (b. 1969, Zhangzhou, China)
Monika Sosnowska (b. 1972, Ryki, Poland)
Danh Vo (b. 1975, Bà Rịa, Vietnam)
Tris Vonna-Michell (b. 1982, Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom)
"What's distinctive about this year's list is that it reflects certain attitudes that are very much of the moment in the way artists approach art-making", jury member Suzanne Cotter told the New York Times.
The New York Times quoted Nancy Spector, the Guggenheim's chief curator and chairwoman of the five-person Hugo Boss Prize jury, as saying that the selected artists share an attitude of making work with a "strong but subtle strand of political critique".
The winner, who will be announced next fall, will have a tough act to follow. Last year the award went to the German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann. Feldmann, now 70, caused quite a stir when he covered a gallery at the Guggenheim, floor to ceiling, in 100,000 used $1 bills. He said he had conceived of this Warholian act as a way "to show the quantity" of the prize, thus writing another chapter in the Guggenheim's history as a canvas for provocative institutional critique.
This year marks the ninth presentation of the Hugo Boss Prize at the Guggenheim Museum. Since its establishment in 1996, the Hugo Boss Prize is given to an artist whose work represents a significant development in contemporary art. The award sets no restrictions in terms of age, gender, nationality, or medium, and the nominations may include emerging artists as well as more established individuals whose public recognition may be long overdue. A five-person jury of museum directors, curators and critics - with Nancy Spector, the Guggenheim's chief curator, as chairwoman - each nominated five candidates.
The 2012 jury is chaired by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and the jurors are Magali Arriola, Curator, Colección Jumex, Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico; Suzanne Cotter, Curator, Abu Dhabi Project, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Kate Fowle, Executive Director, Independent Curators International, New York; Nat Trotman, Associate Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and Theodora Vischer, Senior Curator at Large, Fondation Beyeler, Basel.
Previous winners have included, American artist Matthew Barney (1996), Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (1998), Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrč (2000), French artist Pierre Huyghe (2002), Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (2004), British artist Tacita Dean (2006), Palestinian artist Emily Jacir (2008), and German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010).
Monika Sosnowska, 39, lives and works in Poland, where she was born. At this summer's Venice Biennale she created a star-shaped installation of zigzagging brocade-covered walls as part of "Illuminations", the exhibition organised by the event's artistic director, Bice Curiger. Her installations often explore notions of the built environment. Replicating the forms and vocabulary of architecture, Sosnowska's sculptures and immersive installations express the psychology of the built environment and amplify the particular social or historical concerns that relate to the sites of her work.
The prize winner will be announced this fall.
Source: press release