Since 1999, the Baloise Group has been honouring two young artists per year with the Art Prize. The prize of CHF 30’000 is awarded by an international jury of renowned experts. In addition, the Baloise Group acquires a group of works by the award winners and donates them to two important European museums.
The Baloise Art Prize 2016 has been awarded to the Canadian artist Sara Cwynar and Mary Reid Kelley from the USA. The work by Mary Reid Kelley has been presented to MUDAM, Luxembourg a couple of months ago.
Last year’s jury includes: Marie-Noëlle Farcy, Curator/Head of Collection, MUDAM, Luxembourg; Sabine Schaschl, Director, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; Peter Gorschlüter, Deputy Director MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt a.M.; Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior, Director Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Martin Schwander, Fine Art Advisor of Baloise, Chairman of the jury.
From left: Member of the Baloise Board Thomas von Planta, Baloise Chairman Andreas Burckhardt, Sara Cwynar, MMK Deputy Director Peter Gorschlüter and CEO of Basler Germany Jürg Schiltknecht
In Soft Film, Sara Cwynar (born 1985 in Vancouver, lives in Brooklyn, New York ) has produced an entertaining and yet complex inquiry into fundamental aspects of photography, in particular its production and dissemination in digital and analogue systems. Her video essay, largely filmed in 16mm format, links performative elements with reflections on the construction of the photographic image. Cwynar buys cast-off objects on eBay and purchases photographs in a second-hand store. These she organizes and archives by colour, material and subject matter. Social concerns, such as the circulation and value of objects, as well as feminist issues and the significance of personal incidents and historical events all come into play. The artist poses crucial questions about what photographed imagery means to us today both individually and socially. In so doing, she deploys an aesthetics that varies from the deliberate parading of a do-it-yourself character to the seductive power of professional advertising.Sara Cwynar - Winner of 2016