15th Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation awarded to Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone
Photo: Maru Teppei
New York-based Swiss artist (sculpture, video and installation) UGO RONDINONE (*1964 in Brunnen, Switzerland) received the 15th Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation. He is one of the most acclaimed international artists of his generation who has already been honored with numerous solo exhibitions, among others in London, Paris, Boston, Zurich, Rotterdam or Frankfurt. After all, his monumental groups of works can repeatedly be found dominating public space, whether in urban contexts such as New York and Paris or in the Nevada desert.
“Rondinone's works have their own poetry and are inspired by his own experiences and events. They boast immense density as they are rich in quotations from art history, literature, and pop culture. With seemingly playful material observations in an aesthetic of archetypes that can be sensually experienced and approached by the viewer, the artist creates a connection between the subjective and universal world images," according to the jury of the 15th Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation. “His skillful brilliance is characterized by this poignant immediacy combined with a formal language shaped by a high degree of seriality and the use of the most different artistic media. The captivating formal translation of universal fields of tension such as time and transience, day and night, reality and fiction, nature and culture makes him a worthy laureate of the 15th Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation. Last but not least, the participatory character of his work was convincing.”
The awarding of the prize together with a presentation of the artist's work at one of the museums of the Würth Collection is scheduled for the spring of 2024.
The jury of the 15th Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation
Dr. Christoph Becker, former Director of Kunsthaus Zurich
Dr. Philipp Demandt, Director of Städel Museum and Liebieghaus, Frankfurt
Prof. Dr. Michael Eissenhauer, former Director-General of Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Fabrice Hergott, Director of Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Maaz, General Director of Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich
Elmgreen & Dragset, Scandinavian artist duo, Berlin, winners of the 14th Robert Jacobsen Prize
C. Sylvia Weber, Director of Würth Collection (chair)
Maria Würth, Member of the Board of the Würth Foundation
About the Robert Jacobsen Prize
After the death of sculptor Robert Jacobsen in 1993, the Würth Foundation endowed the Robert Jacobsen Prize in cooperation with Museum Würth. Every other year, it is awarded to contemporary visual artists to commemorate Robert Jacobsen’s oeuvre and influence. After their first accidental encounter in the 1970s, the Danish sculptor and Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth, entrepreneur and art collector, became long-standing friends. In 1991, Jacobsen had completed his largest sculpture installation on the forecourt of the Würth Group's new administration building, which has shaped the appearance of the Group's headquarters ever since. The Robert Jacobsen Prize is endowed with EUR 50,000.
Previous Robert Jacobsen Prize winners:
1993 Lun Tuchnowski
1995 Richard Deacon
1997 Magdalena Jetelovà
1999 Gereon Lepper
2001 Stephan Kern
2003 Rui Chafes
2005/06 Bernar Venet
2008 Monika Sosnowska
2010 Alicja Kwade
2012 Jeppe Hein
2014/15 Michael Sailstorfer
2016/17 Yngve Holen
2018/19 Eva Rothschild
2021 Elmgreen & Dragset
About the Würth Foundation
Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold and Carmen Würth founded the Würth Foundation in 1987. It is a civil law foundation based in Künzelsau, Germany, and promotes charitable and benevolent causes. The Würth Foundation promotes projects in the fields of art and culture, research and science as well as education and training—mainly in the Hohenlohe region, where the Würth Group’s headquarters are located. The foundation also supports social integration projects. The projects of the Würth Foundation are promoted by the German Würth Group companies, in particular Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG.
WURTH FOUNDATION
