Nov 06 | '08 | Jindrich Chalupecky Prize
The 2008 Jindrich Chalupecky Prize
On the basis of the decision issued by the international jury which gathered on 4 November 2008 in the House of the Lords of Kunštát, the selected laureate of the 2008 Jindřich Chalupecký Prize was Radim Labuda. The winner was announced during the ceremonial held in the Reduta theater in Brno. Reasoning of the jury The jury of the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize decided to acknowledge the oeuvre of Radim Labuda. Its members awarded the artist’s attention paid to a man as an object of surveillance, which he continually develops, but has always been able to enrich it with new aspects. Labuda’s projects have their own social status but at the same time contain an intimate dimension and references to art history. The project presented at the finalists’ exhibition was especially valued by the jury due to its ability to abandon social stereotypes that are often intrinsic to contemporary art. The laureate of the 2008 prize wins the following: – 50,000 CZK cheque to support the artist’s future artistic development, donated by the Reflex weekly magazine – 6-weeks’ scholarship in New York – the amount of 100,000 CZK to realize an exhibition, artistic project, or catalogue During the ceremony, the Reflex magazine – the general partner of the Jindřich Chalupecký Prize – also announced the winner of the readers’ contest, Tomáš Moravec, who received more than a half of the total of 6,411 received votes (T. Moravec 51 %, O. Brody 32 %, Z. Baladrán 6 %, Jiří Skála 5 %, Evžen Šimera 5 %, R. Labuda 1 %). The finalists’ exhibition of the 2008 Jindřich Chalupecký Prize – Finale 22 October – 23 November 2008, House of the Lords of Kunštát Curator: Tomáš Pospiszyl General partner of the 2006–2008 Prize: Reflex weekly magazine Partners: Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Embassy of the United States of America, Trust for Mutual Understanding, Foundation for Civil Society, T.A.Print Media partner: Art & Antiques, Artycok.tv For more info about the contest, please visit: www.jchalupecký.cz, www.dum-umeni.cz This year, six finalists out of 62 registered artists and art groups were selected by the jury of the already 19th Jindřich Chalupecký Prize, which gathered on 9 and 10 July 2008 in Prague. Registered to compete were sixty-two artists and art groups, i.e. the largest number in the history of the competition. The finalists – artists Zbyněk Baladrán, Ondřej Brody, Radim Labuda, Tomáš Moravec, Jiří Skála and Evžen Šimera – presently exhibit their works in the House of the Lords of Kunštát in Brno between 22 October and 23 November 2008. The exhibition’s guest is Svätopluk Mikyta – the 2008 winner of the Slovak Oskár Čepan Prize. Members of jury of the 2008 Jindřich Chalupecký Prize Suzanne Altmann, independent curator, Germany, chairwoman of the jury; Elizabeth M. Grady, independent curator, USA; Pavel Liška, rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Czech Republic; Joanna Mytkowska, director of the Museum of Modern Art, Poland; Jan Merta, artist, Czech Republic; Jana Oravcová, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia; Jiří Ptáček, art critic and curator, Czech Republic Statement of the jury to the individual finalists: ZBYNĚK BALADRÁN ranks amongst the most interesting Czech artist of the young generation. He often employs found materials, whether of visual, acoustic or textual character. The process of their deconstruction allows him to arrive at unexpected re-interpretations of historical documents, often presented in the form of video screenings. ONDŘEJ BRODY shoots surprisingly subtle and sensitive films on video, but also creates provocative actions and installations. Most of his works are reflections of social taboos. The artist works with an explicit sexuality whose presentation can almost repulse a viewer, as well as with other facts of life. Intrinsic to his works is humor, related to the more concealed parts of life as well as the very phenomenon of life. We should neither blush not suffer from sleep disorder during and after his productions. We shall open to their direct attacks instead of viewing them as voyeurs and art professionals. RADIM LABUDA employs the medium of video in many unpredicted ways: he may go poetic one day while turning roughly unconventional next time. He can combine the subjects of contemporary culture and art with his own intimate stories. Labuda arranges his shots in an almost painterly way. They may seem ordinary and ephemeral at first, sometimes concealing intimate narration, other time drawing close to abstraction. TOMÁŠ MORAVEC attracted the jury’s attention by his ability to combine interventions to public space and his strong sense of artistic form. His light screenings project geometric patterns to spots linked with the motion of a human body as are, for example, pedestrian crossings and staircases. They make us realize the importance and significance of physical motion in the space of our commonplace, everyday activities. JIŘÍ SKÁLA Skála’s perception repeatedly reflects on motifs of his own intimate relation to things linked with human communication and work. His exceptional project, entitled “Manuscript Exchange”, transforms one of the essential pillars of human identity. Skála’s works are based on logical patterns in which the spontaneity and personal relation to the subject is balanced by catalogue methods and references to the conventions of Minimalism. EVŽEN ŠIMERA has recently focused on painting. He arrived at uncommon results via employing drops of color freely flowing down the painting surface, which serves him as a substitute for traditional methods previously employed in the field of painting. The given technological innovation allows him to explore the limits of painting. Šimera strives to find liaisons between a painting and an object, between originality and accident, between minimalism and design.
