02 Oct 2013

Five Artists Receive The New Heads – Fondation BNP Paribas Art Awards

The NEW HEADS – FONDATION BNP PARIBAS ART AWARDS were awarded to Pauline Beaudemont, Serge Boulaz, Camille Tsvetoukhine, Jean-Gabriel Cruz and Marco Scorti, all graduates of the Master in Fine Arts 2013, whose work has been chosen by Marc-Olivier Wahler in the exhibition 'C'est moi qui choisis' ('It's for me to choose'), on display until 10 November.

A jury comprising Andrea Bellini (Director of the Centre d'art contemporain Genève), Elisabeth Chardon (journalist and art critic for the Swiss newspaper Le Temps), Latifa Echakhch (artist), Quinn Latimer (art critic and freelance journalist for ArtForum), Jean-Pierre Michaux (art collector) and Francesca Pia (Director of the eponymous gallery in Zurich) awarded prizes to three of the 15 nominated artists presented.

The work of Pauline Beaudemont (1983) was honoured for its poetry, its sensitivity and its great formal quality. Her contribution to the exhibition is the result of her recent journey to Chandigarh, the modernist utopia of the architect Le Corbusier. The daily Swiss newspaper Le Temps has chosen to produce multiples of one artwork by the artist, which will shortly be offered on subscription to its readers.

Serge Boulaz (1975) received an award for the extraordinary generosity of his work and his commitment to the Libellules community, a district in Geneva where he has set up the association Le BAL (Biennale of contemporary art at the Libellules, Vernier). Somewhere between a creative collaborative project and a public education structure, its aim is research-action projects on the city, through a variety of participatory, artistic and cultural approaches. He is exhibiting the fully-customized container 8 rue des Libellules, through the work of 'Black Sheep', to whom he gave this rubbish bin, after it had been set on fire.

Lastly, the jury acknowledged the work of Camille Tsvetoukhine (1987) which takes as astonishing as attractive shapes, including ceramic cactus burgers and felt or satin banners, offerings to the divinity of the Golden Verse.

A fourth prize was awarded by the employees of Groupe BNP Paribas in Switzerland, invited to select a winner after visiting the exhibition in the presence of the artists and Marc-Olivier Wahler. A large number of employees attended the ceremony. They have chosen to award two works: the series of highly luminous gouaches by Marco Scorti (1987) and the impressive plastic-coated room, entitled Black Mycelium, by Jean-Gabriel Cruz (1978).

The Jury also praised Marc-Olivier Wahler's commitment and his rigorous selection (15 propositions chosen out of almost sixty Masters projects this year). Succeeding Giovanni Carmine as Curator of the NEW HEADS – FONDATION BNP PARIBAS ART AWARDS, he stated how much he enjoyed meeting the young artists at this key time in their work, when their artistic vocabulary and underlying concerns are becoming established.

Each award also consists of 12,000 CHF, offering a great financial support for the artists' entry into the professional world. The works of the artists are also added to the prestigious collection of the Fondation BNP Paribas Switzerland.