The Zurich Art Prize, awarded annually by Museum Haus Konstruktiv and Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, goes in 2019 to Leonor Antunes (b. 1972 in Lisbon, lives and works in Berlin). This Portuguese artist is the twelfth winner of the internationally renowned award. The prize is endowed with CHF 100,000, of which CHF 20,000 go to the respective winner and the other CHF 80,000 are used for the production of their solo exhibition at Museum Haus Konstruktiv.
In particular, Antunes enthused the Zurich Art Prize jury with her sensorial precise pieces, in which she explicitly refers back to the works and ideas of well-known 20th-century cultural workers from the fields of architecture, design and art.
Leonor Antunes conceives her sculptural works on the basis of research into objects from the history of modernist architecture and design, whereby she is just as interested in the historical objects’ materiality and manner of production, as she...is in their former sociopolitical significance. From architectures and pieces of furniture, she borrows forms and motifs, removes these from their original context and combines them as duplicates, enlargements or reductions, to make new sculptural works and environments. Antunes pays special attention to the place where she presents her works. The space’s architectural and historical givens write themselves into the history of the exhibited objects, much like how these, conversely, recharge the space. Presentation of preexisting works in new environments and combinations is part of Antunes’s artistic practice. ”I really like the idea of installing previous / existing works in different settings. Each show is a new challenge in that sense, and the sculptures are generous enough to be absorbed by the different situations and contexts.”
At Museum Haus Konstruktiv, this artist presents pieces that belong to two groups of works from 2017 and 2018. In both series, she primarily addresses female figures like Clara Porset, Charlotte Perriand or Franca Helg who were long neglected by art history and architectural history.
After studying stage design at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in Lisbon, Leonor Antunes studied fine arts at Universidade de Lisboa and the State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe.
Leonor Antunes can look back on numerous solo exhibitions, for instance at the following renowned institutions: Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2018); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2017); Tensta konsthall, Stockholm (2017); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2016); CAPC musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux (2015); New Museum, New York (2015); KIOSK, Ghent (2015); Pérez Art Museum Miami (2014); Kunsthalle Lissabon, Lisbon (2013); Kunsthalle Basel (2013); Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2012); Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto (2011); Museo Experimental El Eco, Mexico City (2011); Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2011).
The artist’s most important group exhibitions include: Condemned To Be Modern, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG) (2017); Ficciones y territorios: Arte para pensar la nueva razón del mundo, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2016); Slip of the Tongue, Punta della Dogana, Venice (2015); Beyond the Supersquare, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York (2014).
In addition, Antunes has already taken part in several biennials, such as: 59th Biennale di Venezia (2019); 57th Biennale di Venezia (2017); Sharjah Biennial 12 (2015); 8th Berlin Biennale (2014); Singapore Biennale 2011; Bienal de Arte Contemporânea da Maia (1999 and 2003).
Entrada actualizada el el 30 oct de 2019
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