Media Relations

Overview

Zurich and Haus Konstruktiv present the «Zurich Art Prize» 2008 to Tino Sehgal

This year’s award winner was selected from a total of five art nominees. The jury praised the high quality of the works of art created by the nominated artists, but unanimously chose Tino Sehgal as the award winner of the «Zurich Art Prize» 2008. The «Zurich Art Prize», which was launched by Zurich and Haus Konstruktiv in 2007, is considered as a highly remunerated art prize in Europe and will be presented this evening during a private function at Wenkendorf in Riehen near Basel.

The artist and his work

Tino Sehgal’s works do not exist as objects, because the art viewers are not confronted with a tangible object but rather experience the art as an encounter. Sehgal stages encounters between the exhibition visitors and actors which he has placed there himself. So, for example, the museum attendants could appear as interpreters of a sequence of events planned in advance. They will be the ones who surprise, unsettle, amuse or engage the visitors in a conversation through the use of certain actions involving speech and movement. Sehgal’s art therefore only comes into being when interaction of this type occurs. Afterwards, the work of art will exist only in the world of experience and memory of those who directly experienced it. It therefore logically follows that the artist refuses to have any photographic or recorded documentation made of his work. «Sehgal’s work is impressive due to its precise and logical design concepts, which are at the same time both highly poetic and strong in their associative power. In the context of Haus Konstruktiv, Tino Sehgal reinforces the museum’s additional interest in pursuing the conceptual approach of minimalist traditions», says Dorothea Strauss, Director of Haus Konstruktiv and chairwoman of the jury.

Tino Sehgal exhibition at Haus Konstruktiv

In November, the artist will create a work of art at Haus Konstruktiv which involves the abduction of museum visitors from their role as observers and plunges them into a situation where feeling, perception and comprehension are activated in a special experience. The event awaiting the museum visitors will not be revealed. Only those who go to the museum will experience it.
The exhibition opening will take place on 19th November at 6 p.m. at Haus Konstruktiv. The exhibition will then be open for visitors to experience up until 1st February, 2009.

The jury

The jury consists of the following specialist members: Dorothea Strauss (director Haus Konstruktiv, chairperson), Samuel Keller (former director of Art Basel, since 2008 director of the Fondation Beyeler in Basel/Riehen), Annette Kulenkampff (publishing manager at Hatje Cantz Verlag [publishing company]), David Weiss (artist), Gianfranco Verna (gallery owner in Zurich) and Markus Hongler (CEO Zurich Switzerland).

Successful first year of Zurich’s involvement

During the first year of Zurich’s involvement as a patron it has been possible to carry out various activities with Haus Konstruktiv. The launch of the Zurich Art Prize above all received a lot of attention. This prize has been created from the close cooperation between Zurich and Haus Konstruktiv, and has contributed to the support for artists involved in the concrete constructivist art scene. The prize consists of an exhibition in Haus Konstruktiv and publication, but will be interpreted differently this year because Sehgal has renounced any type of photographic or cinematic documentation. The Zurich Art Prize is awarded each year during the Art Basel art show. The prizewinner should be a part of the younger generation and should have already been developing on a sustained basis on the national and international contemporary art scene. «We would like to reach a broad public by passing on and promoting art, and to promote a dialogue with contemporary artists», stresses Markus Hongler, CEO Zurich Switzerland.

Haus Konstruktiv Foundation and Museum

Haus Konstruktiv is the only institution in Switzerland and one of the few in Europe which has devoted itself to reappraising the history and content of concrete, constructive and conceptual art and is placing it within a living dialogue with international trends in contemporary art.

The Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich Switzerland) is in charge of the Zurich Financial Services Group’s corporate and private customer segment in Switzerland and in the Principality of Liechtenstein. It is one of the largest insurers in Switzerland and appears on the market under the names Zurich and Zurich Connect.

Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is a financial services provider established in the insurance sector, with a global network of subsidiaries and branches in North America and Europe as well as in the Asian-Pacific region, in Latin America and additional markets. The company founded in 1872 has its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and employs around 60,000 staff which provide services in more than 170 countries.

For further information:

Zurich Switzerland media office
Telephone: 044 628 75 75
E-Mail: media@zurich.ch