Kunsthalle Wien 2022 Prize goes to Albin Bergström
Albin Bergström (Object Sculpture / Julian Göthe), who was awarded the main prize for the Academy, convinced the jury with his daring and cheerful sculptures.
The Kunsthalle Wien Prize, which is already being awarded for the eighth time, stands for the successful cooperation of the Kunsthalle Wien with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the University of Applied Arts Vienna and has established itself as an important instrument for the promotion of young artists in Vienna.
The award, which is given to selected graduates of the two Viennese art academies by jury decision, includes participation in an exhibition and an accompanying publication; in addition, one artist per art academy is awarded the main prize, including prize money of 3,000 euros.
For this year's award, the jury reviewed a total of 95 diploma and master's projects from the fields of visual and media art - 43 graduates of the academy and 52 graduates of the applied arts applied for the prize. The outstanding theme in their works was the search for a "real", a true subjective expression in which the social and political contexts of our time are reflected. Equally present in the works were attention and empathy in relation to the coexistence of human and non-human actors* on earth.
Due to the high quality of the submitted works, the jury decided to select a total of ten graduates to participate in the group exhibition, which will be shown at Kunsthalle Wien in spring 2023:
Albin Bergström, who was awarded the main prize for the Academy, convinced the jury with his daring and cheerful sculptures. By incorporating textile found objects, they become extravagant but silent protagonists that subtly reflect the undoing of colonial histories of exploitation through everyday (and supposedly innocent) rituals. Julius Pristauz receives the Angewandte's main prize for a multimedia installation that accompanies his film Bad Lighting. His subtly coordinated works blur the categories by which identities are normally defined, navigating us through the diversity and complexity of queer identities and cultures.
The jury also selected Alexandru Cosarca, Charlotte Gash, Gleb Kulpin and Juliana Lindenhofer (all Academy of Fine Arts Vienna) as well as Tijana Lazović, Raphael Reichl, Vanessa Schmidt and Ramiro Wong (all University of Applied Arts Vienna).
The exhibition for the prize of the Kunsthalle Wien 2022:
Exhibition venue: Kunsthalle Wien
Duration of the exhibition: probably from May 2023
Curator: Anne Faucheret