« News

The Baltic Artists Award 2017

By Michele Robecchi

In contrast with other art prizes featuring multiple artists, the Baltic Artists Awards has only winners. The four finalists (José Dávila, Eric N. Mack, Toni Schmale and Shen Xin) all received an artist’s fee, a budget to create new work, and a 13-weeks exhibition at the Baltic Art Centre in Gateshead.

Eric N. Mack A Lesson in Perspective 2017, activated by participant BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Eric N. Mack A Lesson in Perspective 2017, activated by participant BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

The only ostensible competitive element is the public vote, with visitors casting a ballot to determine who of the four will earn the honor to develop an additional project engaging with the local community. The other novelty is that the shortlist has been put together by four artists who had a history with the Baltic–Monica Bonvicini, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Mike Nelson and Lorna Simpson.

Jose Dávila The weaker has conquered the stronger 2017 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 Installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Jose Dávila The weaker has conquered the stronger 2017 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 Installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Dávila, selected by Cabrita Reis, is possibly the most conservative choice, being an artist with a long CV and less than half-baked ideas. His sharing a room with Mack will probably generate some confusion to the less-informed, but it’s actually good to see two artists with such different conceptual and formal propositions working together in order to look both good rather than embracing the “blow everybody else off stage” mentality that often dooms group shows.

Shen Xin Provocation of the Nightingale 2017 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 four channel video installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Shen Xin Provocation of the Nightingale 2017 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 four channel video installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Those on the lookout for procedural affinities between nominated and nominator must have been surprised by the association between Nelson and Shen Xin. Yet her beautiful video installation confirms that this was the right choice–as the younger artist of the lot, Xin is clearly at a pivotal moment of her career, and it’s good to see her getting an opportunity to stretch her wings.

Toni Schmale wildkatze 2016 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

Toni Schmale wildkatze 2016 BALTIC Artists’ Award 2017 installation view, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Photo: John McKenzie © 2017 BALTIC

The work of Toni Schmale, who is a former student of Bonvicini at the Kunstakademie in Vienna, displays a great degree of maturity. Pretty much like Phyllida Barlow, Virginia Overton, and Bonvicini herself, her sculptures challenge gender assumptions through a thoughtful investigation of materials and the way society operates. In a time when one of the UK’s most important art events–the Turner Prize–is busy reinventing itself by changing criteria and location, the Baltic Art Award constitutes a welcome alternative.

Michele Robecchi is a writer and curator based in London. A former managing editor of Flash Art (2001-2004) and senior editor at Contemporary Magazine (2005-2007), he is currently a visiting lecturer at Christie’s Education and an editor at Phaidon Press, where he has edited monographs about Marina Abramović, Francis Alÿs, Jorge Pardo, Stephen Shore and Ai Weiwei.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,


Related Articles

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.