Shortlisted artists for BECK’S FUTURES 2005
18 March – 15 May 2005
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
The Mall
London SW1Y 5AH
+44 20 7766 1404
www.becksfutures.co.uk
www.ica.org.uk
From left to right: Daria Martin, Christina Mackie, Ryan Gander, Lali Chetwynd, Donald Urqhart, Luke Fowler. (c) Eva Vermendel Dec. 2004
SHORTLISTED ARTISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE UK’S MOST GENEROUS ART AWARD
Lali Chetwynd, Luke Fowler, Ryan Gander, Christina Mackie, Daria Martin and Donald Urquhart
Beck’s Bier and the ICA are proud to announce the short list for BECK’S FUTURES 2005, the UK’s most generous art award worth 65,000 GBP. An exhibition of the selected artists’ work will show at the ICA in London from 18 March – 15 May 2005 before travelling to the CCA, Glasgow for 28 May 2005.
In making their selection for BECK’S FUTURES 2005, the international panel, consisting of artists: Wolfgang Tillmans and Cerith Wyn Evans; curators Jessica Morgan, Louise Neri and Beatrix Ruf, were drawn to nominees who refused to sit neatly in any one category, who displayed a genuine, even eccentric independence and eclecticism. They were looking for artists that would effect real change, produce real responses through their unique take on the world around them. The six short listed artists for BECK’S FUTURES 2005 display a broad range of influence, experience and practice. Each is distinct, diverse, resolutely non-linear and fits well into the interdisciplinary context of the ICA. They are:
LALI CHETWYND, whose paintings and exuberant performance works explore notions of the grotesque and have featured appearances by Jabba the Hutt and a Meatloaf-inspired cast of bats; LUKE FOWLER, a Glasgow-based artist, makes lyrical, ambiguous films that play with documentary forms in their examination of social experiment and secret pasts; RYAN GANDER, encompasses a broad range of practices from installations to illustrated lectures and novels. An earlier work, The Death of Abbe Faria explores, through fragmentary evidence, the mysterious disappearance of a MacGuffin/Keyser Soze type figure; CHRISTINA MACKIE, whose past works – pairing technology with the handmade and manually intensive – have included a set of Styrofoam cups serially crushed by increasing levels of air pressure, and a drawing translated into a DNA sequence, intended to be ‘inserted’ into the genome sequences of trees; DARIA MARTIN who uses what she describes as “lo-tech magic” to make explicit the artifice behind her lyrical and highly seductive films; and DONALD URQUHART who first gained attention through his ’90′s high-camp cabaret night The Beautiful Bend, and whose distinctive ink drawings, featuring figures such as Judy Garland, George Best and Elizabeth Taylor, satirically subvert historical and pop-cultural motifs.
The winner of BECK’S FUTURES 2005 will be announced at the awards night in late April. The short-listed artists will share 40,000 GBP worth of awards, whilst the overall winner will be given an additional 20,000. GBP The BECK’S FUTURES STUDENT PRIZE FOR FILM AND VIDEO will be held alongside the main award, at which the winner and runners up will be presented with prize monies worth a total of 5,000 GBP.
Jens Hoffmann, ICA Director of Exhibitions and Chairman of this year’s BECK’S FUTURES Panel:
“For BECK’S FUTURES 2005 the focus resides emphatically with the artists and their work. The decision by this year’s panel to select a smaller shortlist than previously clearly reflects this intention and will have an enormous impact on the overall presentation of their work. BECK’S FUTURES has always been representative of the diversity of the current artistic production in the UK. The exhibition for 2005 will provide each artist with the space and seriousness they deserve and bring an added dimension to this already prestigious award.”
Dave Pattman, Marketing Manager for Beck’s in the UK: “2005 marks the 20th anniversary of Beck’s Bier’s support for contemporary art in the UK and we are therefore especially pleased to be able to present this exciting group of artists at the BECK’S FUTURES 2005 Exhibition. We are grateful to this year’s panel for choosing such a strong and original shortlist and are proud to be able to play a part in bringing their work to a wider audience.”
Cerith Wyn Evans, BECK’S FUTURES 2005 judge: “In the current climate of all-knowing, all-embracing media overload it is harder than ever to be distinctive; to have fresh voice or vision. This year’s shortlist shows originality to be entirely possible. They represent artistic diversity and balance artistic seriousness and integrity with an engaging and super sensual luxurious-ness. This exhibition is a chance for artists to be seen rather than (mis)heard.”
Media Partner: The independent
Press information:
T +00 44 20 7766 1404 F +46 (0)40-30 15 07 E: natashap@ica.org.uk