Today, the NN Group Art Award, an incentive prize for artists with exceptional artistic talent, was presented for the second time at Art Rotterdam. This year, Pauline Curnier Jardin won the award.
The winner of this year’s NN Group Art Award was announced by Lard Friese, CEO NN Group, at the official opening of Art Rotterdam, where work of all nominees is displayed. Lard Friese: ‘Art plays an important role in society and that is why NN wants to make art more widely accessible. Art inspires and connects, and often reflects social issues. This is something we also see in the work of the nominees for the NN Group Art Award 2018. I am proud that with this award, we support talented artists in the further development of their career.’
The jury report about Pauline Curnier Jardin
The jury is of the opinion that Pauline Curnier Jardin’s (Marseille, 1980) work rewrites the conventional creation of the world and offers feminist alternatives that are often intractable and rebellious. Curnier Jardin’s films, performances and installations are critical, but at the same time full of humorous and philosophical elements and surprising twists, says the jury. The jury values that Curnier Jardin represents the hard contrasts that are central to her themes in a poetic way. In 2017, Curnier Jardin gained international visibility at the 57th Venice Biennale, where she participated with a film installation.
Criteria
A total of 41 Art Rotterdam gallery holders nominated artists and provided documentary material. The jury picked four nominees for the NN Group Art Award:
- Salim Bayri – SIGN
- Pauline Curnier – Jardin Ellen de Bruijne Projects
- Rafaël Rozendaal – Upstream Gallery
- Sam Samiee – (re)D., Antwerp
The most important criteria applied by the jury were that artists had to have completed their studies at a Dutch academy, the work should be of high quality, and the work should show authenticity and innovation.
NN Group Art Award
NN Group Art Award is a contemporary art award introduced in 2017 to recognise exceptional talent. A EUR 10,000 cash prize accompanies the award to help artists further develop their work. The prize is not only aimed at young talent; artists who are already a little further along in their career and who completed their education at an art school or postgraduate art school in the Netherlands are also eligible for the prize. NN Group will purchase a work from one of the four nominees to add to NN Group’s art collection. This work will be on display at the NN Group headquarters in The Hague.
This award is an initiative that brings the exceptional quality of art schools in the Netherlands into the limelight. From all over the world, young artists flock to Dutch academies to tap into their full potential and become acquainted with other artists and cultures.
