Anarchist Wit
Janek Simon is awarded the Prize for
Young Polish Art
Janek
Simon, der Gewinner von „Views“,
dem
Preis für junge polnische Kunst
After
some intense discussions, the moment finally came: An international jury
declared Janek
Simon the winner of this year’s Views,
the Prize for Young Polish Art. The 10.000 € prize is a joint project
between Deutsche Bank
Foundation and the Zacheta
National Gallery in Warsaw. It has now been awarded for the third time
to support young, upcoming artists in Poland, and is accompanied by an
exhibition at the Zacheta. Here, recent works by all nominees – most of
which were created exclusively for this exhibition – are on display until
November 11. Besides the winner, Janek Simon, artists such as Michal
Stachyra, Rafal
Jakubowicz, Olga
Lewicka, Karol Radziszewski
and the duos Sedzia
Glówny and Rusz Art
Gallery show their contributions. Their artistic statements are
impressive reflections of the vibrant young Polish scene. In a state of
flux between the socialist past and global capitalism, the artists use
absurd wit, criticize institutions or take up provocative contemporary
issues such as the phenomenon of international terrorism.
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In his works, this year’s winner Janek Simon combines a
"charming lightness" with subversive strategies, which impressed the
international jury comprised of Sebastian Cichocki (Director of the Krokia
Gallery and art critic), Britta Färber (Deutsche Bank Art), Elzbieta
Jablonska (winner of the 2003 Views prize), Beatrice Josse
(Director of FRAC Lorraine), Hanna Wróblewska (Deputy Director of Zacheta
National Gallery), Wojciech Kozlowski (Director of the Public Gallery
Gerona Gura/Greenmountains) and Jaroslaw Suchan (Director of the Sztuki
Museum in Lodzs). In his installations, the Cracow born artist lures the
viewer into subtle traps. Many of his projects are charcterized by an
anarchist wit, e.g., when he gave lectures on edible plants or the art of
lock picking. Another example: In Madagascar, Simon initiated a Polish
year including an art exhibition – though without any participation of
Polish artists. For Views, Simon exposes absurd, beetle-like
creatures made of bread and metal in the halls of the museum. These
low-tech constructions crawl on the floor and eventually gather around
some sort of shrine: an old TV set whose program is determined by a video
mixer that blends the images of two TV channels into an oddly displaced
psychodelic picture.
Janek
Simons installation at the Zacheta National Gallery
Every
two years the selection committee for Views presents promising
Polish artists. The lists of nominees from the previous award ceremonies
include names such as Monika
Sosnowska, who was one of the favorites for the Golden Lion prize at
this year’s Venice Biennale, or Pawel
Althamer and Paulina
Olowska, who now exhibit at major international art events. The prize
is intended to encourage young artists who often receive little public
attention despite international success since there is still a lack of
collectors, sponsors and stipendia in Poland. Last year, Deutsche Bank
Polska S.A. received the prize Patron
of Culture 2006 for its commitment to Polish culture. This award,
which is presented annually by Poland’s Minister of Culture and National
Heritage, was granted in recognition of the special concept of “Views”.
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