NEW YORK, NY.- Six finalists have been selected for the Hugo Boss Prize 2016, the biennial award established in 1996 to recognize artists whose work is among the most innovative and influential of our time. Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and chair of the jury, today announced the finalists chosen by a panel of international critics and curators. Over the past two decades juries have identified and selected as finalists paradigm-shifting artists from around the world, recognizing the achievements of both emerging and established figures, and setting no parameters in terms of age, gender, or medium.

The following artists are finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize 2016:

• Tania Bruguera (b. 1968, Havana)
• Mark Leckey (b. 1964, Birkenhead, UK)
• Ralph Lemon (b. 1952, Cincinnati)
• Laura Owens (b. 1970, Euclid, Ohio)
• Wael Shawky (b. 1971, Alexandria, Egypt)
• Anicka Yi (b. 1971, Seoul)

“Promoting the most innovative cultural production continues to be at the core of the Guggenheim’s institutional mission, and for the past twenty years, the Hugo Boss Prize has given us the opportunity to identify and honor artists who make a lasting impact on the landscape of contemporary art,” said Nancy Spector. “We are grateful for the sustained enthusiasm of Hugo Boss for a project that acknowledges today’s most prescient creative voices.”

The prize, administered by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, has become an integral part of the Guggenheim’s contemporary art programming. The winner is awarded a $100,000 cash prize and featured in a solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. The Hugo Boss Prize catalogues, which have evolved over the years into ambitious collaborations between curators, artists, and designers, form a key component of the program’s legacy. The Hugo Boss Prize 2016 winner will be announced in the fall of 2016, and the exhibition will be held in 2017.

“The Hugo Boss Prize has developed into a renowned accolade over the past two decades, and we are proud to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. Together with the Guggenheim Foundation, we have since honored many excellent and successful artists,” said Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, Chairman and CEO, HUGO BOSS AG. “Our sincerest congratulations go out to our nominees for 2016.”