In 2019, the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst am Museum Ludwig is awarding the Wolfgang Hahn Prize to Jac Leirner. For many years now, the work of the Brazilian artist (b. 1961 in São Paulo) has engaged in a subtle analysis of social and representational systems. Found, often industrially produced everyday objects play an important role here; following the principle of collecting, accumulating, and classifying, Leirner uses them to create installations, collages, and sculptures.
Image: Teretetê, 2014, Plastic rulers, 39 3/4 × 87 3/8 in. (101 × 222 cm), © Jac Leirner
In 2019, the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst am Museum Ludwig is awarding the Wolfgang Hahn Prize to Jac Leirner. For many years now, the work of the Brazilian artist (b. 1961 in São Paulo) has engaged in a subtle analysis of social and representational systems. Found, often industrially produced everyday objects play an important role here; following the principle of collecting, accumulating, and classifying, Leirner uses them to create installations, collages, and sculptures.
Jac Leirner. Photograph: Publicity image
Jochen Volz, director of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and guest juror for the 2019 Wolfgang Hahn Prize, explains the jury’s decision: “Jac Leirner is one of the most important exponents of Conceptual Art today as well as of so-called Institutional Critique. Since the 1980s her sculptures, paintings, and installations have questioned the notion of the original and the value of artworks. She assimilates found, collected, and even stolen objects, most of which are industrially produced. The work Museum Bags (1985/2018), for instance, consists of a collection of ordinary plastic bags that she purchased at various museum stores. Here, the bags, which are typically used by visitors to transport a souvenir from a public museum to their private space, become part of a large-scale collage.”
Chance, 2016, print on plywood, 5 3/16 × 76 7/16 × 13/16 in. (13.2 × 194.2 × 2 cm) © Jac Leirner
Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior, director of the Museum Ludwig and a member of the jury, adds: “2019 is aspecial year for the Wolfgang Hahn Prize: for the first time we are honoring a South American artist for her internationally relevant oeuvre. This broadens our view of the global contemporary art scene.Leirner’s work, situated at the intersection of Minimalism, Conceptualism, and Institutional Critique, is a great enrichment for the collection of the Museum Ludwig. And for the twenty-fifth consecutive time, the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst is awarding the Wolfgang Hahn Prize thanks to the commitment of its members—their long-term and sustained civic engagement for contemporary art is simply terrific.”
Teretetê, 2014, Plastic rulers, 39 3/4 × 87 3/8 in. (101 × 222 cm), © Jac Leirner
Mayen Beckmann, chairwoman of the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst, comments: “The task ofupdating the Museum Ludwig’s collection in the future was the aim of the Wolfgang Hahn Prize right from the start. We wish to honor artists whose work has already been recognized by a professional audience but not yet received much attention in Germany. Hence, we consciously select works byartists who have thus far been absent. Jac Leirner’s art meets these criteria exactly and definitely belongs in the Museum Ludwig. We are delighted to be able to present this artist to the public in the Museum Ludwig, also thanks to BAUWENS und EBNER STOLZ. We are grateful that both companies have agreed to support the exhibition and publication associated with the Wolfgang HahnPrize for an additional three years.”
On the occasion of the awarding of the prize, Museum Bags (1985/2018) will be acquired by the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst for the collection of the Museum Ludwig and presented within the context of the permanent collection. Also in conjunction with the prize, a publication produced in collaboration with the artist will be issued by the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst.