VIENNA.- A new biennial prize for contemporary art was awarded by Vendome Projects and the Belvedere on Monday, November 28, 2022. The prize is endowed with 20,000 euros.

JURY STATEMENT

The selection of Robert Gabris was made for the artist’s impressively focused and engaged body of work. He draws intensively on his background in the Roma community, while constantly questioning the limits of identities imposed on individuals and groups from the outside. His art scrutinizes the condition of the human body, exploring its edges and forms in relation to queerness, more-than-human life, and multiple marginalizations. His visual language ranges from precise drawings to prose poems to layered sculptural combinations that revel in complexity while engaging diverse publics. His experimental drawings serve as a way to resist exclusion and racism while always remaining fluid and open to interpretation. The jury is also impressed by his commitment to community engagement and acknowledges the emotional labor that this requires. 

This year’s nomination jury, consisting of Mirela Baciak (Curator, steirischer herbst, Graz), Katharina Brandl (Head of Visual Arts, Pro Helvetia, Zurich), Neda Hosseinyar (President of the Austrian Association of Women Artists, VBKÖ), Luca Lo Pinto (Artistic Director, MUSEO MACRO, Rome), and Ivana Pilić (Co-Director, D/Arts, Vienna), nominated a total of nine artists: Rawan Almukhtar, Robert Gabris, Sophie Gogl, Julia S. Goodman, Claudia Lomoschitz, Pouran Parvizi, Marlies Pöschl, Huda Takriti, and Sophie Thun. 

An international jury selected Robert Gabris as the winner on November 28. This year’s selection jury constituents were Elena Agudio (Artistic Co-director, SAVVY Contemporary,Berlin/designated Director, Villa Romana, Florence), Charles Esche (Director, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven), Mahret Ifeoma Kupka (Senior Curator, Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt am Main; founding member of the Neue Deutsche Museumsmacher*innen), Stella Rollig (General Director, Belvedere), and Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein (initiator, Belvedere Art Award; Professor, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna). 

The festive award ceremony was held on November 28 at the Belvedere 21. Following a spoken-word performance by Esra Özmen/EsRAP, the nominated artists were introduced and the award winner announced. After the jury's statement and laudation, 150 guests from the art and culture spheres attended the reception with music from DJ JOIE DE FILLE.

In addition to a monetary prize of 20,000 euros, Robert Gabris will receive a solo exhibition with an accompanying publication. The solo show will take place from 7 September 2023 to 18 February 2024 at the Belvedere 21.