The award is to further the work of any international young artist exploring creativity through the integration of art forms. The prize provides the artist, in addition to the cash award, with the chance for collaboration or an underwritten work with the company in the upcoming year.
“Keren Cytter is awarded the first-ever Absolut Art Award for her outstanding cross-pollination of art forms. Cytter's works take her beyond the traditional art forms, while exploring the intersection between theatre, performance, film and installation art. Her artistry involves investigative narratives which reason with both our subconscious and our quest for good storytelling,” says Daniel Birnbaum, head of the award jury.
Birnbaum is professor and principal of the Städelschule in Frankfurt, and director of the Visual Arts Sector at the Venice Biennale 2009. The jury also consists of Thomas Nordanstad, filmmaker and curator, Anna Malmhake, vice president global marketing, the Absolut Company and Göran Lundqvist, chairman of the board at Sweden's Historical Museum of Wine & Spirits. Future juries will include the most recent winner of the Art Award.
“Andy Warhol was the first artist to collaborate with us. Since then hundreds of artists have helped building our brand, for which we are grateful. The company and art have walked hand in hand for many years, and this award expresses our long term commitment to creativity,” says Malmhake.
The Absolut art collection today comprises more than 800 works from artists such as Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michael Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois, Sylvie Fleury, David Shrigley, Hung Tung Lu, Dan Wolgers and Linn Fernström. The collection is now gathered in Sweden where it will get its permanent home in Stockholm at the Historical Museum of Wine & Spirits.
For further information, go to absolutartcollection.com or press.absolut.com.
