Katharina Fritsch receives the Goslar Kaiserring

The Kaiserring of the city of Goslar, one of the most prestigious international art prizes, will be awarded to the sculptor Katharina Fritsch. "The character of her works – the chosen size, the apparent simplicity and painterly quality – lends them a strong aura that is both direct and yet complex. Fritsch's work is often based on the traditional roles that sculptures take on as icons, statues or fetishes, among other things. These roles are explored and both reinforced and questioned through means such as enlargement, repetition and anti-naturalistic multicolor. Motifs such as men and Madonnas, mice and roosters, tables and beds appear so simple that they do not pose any riddles - and yet Katharina Fritsch's sculpture always remains strange and enraptured; iconic in the truest sense of the word", is how the jury of the City of Goslar Art Prize explained its decision. The unendowed prize, which is being awarded for the 50th time, will be presented on October 11.

Fritsch's sculptures are mostly life-size or larger-than-life objects or animals that are alienated by monochrome colors and reduced to their form. The color conveys a certain atmosphere or serves as a metaphor. In addition, Fritsch uses color to convey the character of a commodity that does not allow for individual traits and has been commenting on the consumer world since the 1980s. Since 1987, Fritsch has been internationally renowned for her works Elephant and Madonna Figure, which was publicly exhibited in Münster. Other famous works include the monumental sculpture Rat king (1991-1993). Her contribution to contemporary sculpture has been described as "incomparable". In 2022, the artist was awarded the Golden Lion for her life's work at the 59th Venice Biennale.

Main Image: Janna Grak/Stadt Goslar/dpa