A jury selected Paul Chan as the winner of the 2014 Prize from a short list of five finalists, which included Sheela Gowda, Camille Henrot, Hassan Khan, and Charline von Heyl. The international jury, chaired by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, was comprised of eminent curators and museum directors, including Katherine Brinson, Curator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Doryun Chong, Chief Curator, M+, Hong Kong; Tim Griffin, Executive Director and Chief Curator, The Kitchen, New York; Polly Staple, Director, Chisenhale Gallery, London; and Ari Wiseman, Deputy Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
The jury statement describes their decision: “With the selection of Paul Chan as the recipient of the Hugo Boss Prize 2014, the jury recognizes his singular artistic voice, which manifests itself in myriad forms, including sculpture, animated video, and light projection, as well as community-based performance and, most recently, an electronic and print publishing venture called Badlands Unlimited. Regardless of platform, each of Chan’s indelible and at-times provocative projects deftly excavates our cultural landscape. We applaud his unfettered commitment to experimentation and look forward to the continued evolution of his practice. All of the Hugo Boss Prize 2014 finalist artists are creating groundbreaking and influential work, and we celebrate each artist’s rich contribution to the field of contemporary art.”
Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, stated, “We are pleased to be celebrating the tenth iteration of the Hugo Boss Prize this year and are proud of its long history of honoring artists at the vanguard of contemporary art practice. We applaud this year’s winner, Paul Chan, as well as the full list of nominees for their compelling and innovative work.”
“The long and successful story of the Hugo Boss Prize bears testimony to the continuity of our arts sponsorship program,” noted Dr. Hjoerdis Kettenbach, Head of Cultural Affairs at HUGO BOSS. “We would like to extend our congratulations to the winner and express our gratitude to the jury and the Guggenheim Museum for their dedication and cooperation. We are already looking forward to Paul Chan’s solo exhibition this coming spring.”
“I am continually impressed by the urgency and agility of Chan’s multidisciplinary practice. He is making work of great impact that will resonate with generations to come,” added Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Paul Chan (b. 1973, Hong Kong) lives and works in New York. Chan’s work was recently featured in a solo presentation at the Schaulager, Basel (2014). Other solo exhibitions of the artist’s work have been presented at the Renaissance Society, University of Chicago (2009); New Museum, New York (2008); Serpentine Gallery, London (2007); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2007); Magasin 3, Stockholm Konsthall (2006); Portikus, Frankfurt (2006); Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (2006); Blanton Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Texas, Austin (2006); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2005); and Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (2005). Chan also worked as creative director for Waiting for Godot in New Orleans: A Play in Two Acts, a Project in Three Parts, produced with the Classical Theatre of Harlem, presented by Creative Time, Ninth Ward, New Orleans (2008). His work has been included in numerous group exhibitions including Documenta 13, Kassel (2012); Seeing Is Believing, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2011); I Am Still Alive: Politics and Everyday Life in Contemporary Drawing, Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011); Found in Translation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2011); Haunted, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (2010); HEAVEN, 2nd Athens Biennial (2009); Making Worlds, 53rd Venice Biennale (2009); The Quick and the Dead, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2009); Yokohama Triennial (2008); 16th Sydney Biennial (2008); 10th International Istanbul Biennial (2007); 2nd International Biennial of Seville (2006); Whitney Biennial, New York (2006); Greater New York, MoMA P.S.1 (2005); 8th Lyon Contemporary Art Biennial (2005); Guangzhou Triennial (2005); and Carnegie International, Pittsburgh (2004).
The Hugo Boss Prize 2014 is made possible by HUGO BOSS.
Hugo Boss Prize History
2014 marks the tenth presentation of the Hugo Boss Prize at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Since its inception in 1996, the Prize has been awarded to American artist Matthew Barney (1996), Scottish artist Douglas Gordon (1998), Slovenian artist Marjetica Potrč (2000), French artist Pierre Huyghe (2002), Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (2004), British artist Tacita Dean (2006), Palestinian artist Emily Jacir (2008), German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010), and Danish artist Danh Vo (2012). Previous finalists have included Laurie Anderson, Janine Antoni, Cai Guo-Qiang, Stan Douglas, and Yasumasa Morimura in 1996; Huang Yong Ping, William Kentridge, Lee Bul, Pipilotti Rist, and Lorna Simpson in 1998; Vito Acconci, Maurizio Cattelan, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Tom Friedman, Barry Le Va, and Tunga in 2000; Francis Alÿs, Olafur Eliasson, Hachiya Kazuhiko, Koo Jeong-a, and Anri Sala in 2002; Franz Ackermann, Rivane Neuenschwander, Jeroen de Rijke and Willem de Rooij, Simon Starling, and Yang Fudong in 2004; Allora & Calzadilla, John Bock, Damián Ortega, Aïda Ruilova, and Tino Sehgal in 2006; Christoph Büchel, Patty Chang, Sam Durant, Joachim Koester, and Roman Signer in 2008; Cao Fei, Roman Ondák, Walid Raad, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul in 2010; and Trisha Donnelly, Rashid Johnson, Qiu Zhijie, Monika Sosnowska, and Tris Vonna-Michell in 2012.
Publication
In conjunction with the Hugo Boss Prize 2014, the Guggenheim has published a catalogue featuring artist projects by each of the finalists and newly commissioned critical essays offering insight into each of their practices. The catalogue includes texts by Petra Cortright, Jeramy DeCristo, Suzanne Hudson, Fionn Meade, and Grant Watson, along with an introduction by Katherine Brinson, Curator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Designed by Gilles Gavillet of the Geneva-based design firm Gavillet & Rust, the catalogue is available for $19.95 at the Guggenheim Store or online at
guggenheimstore.org.
About HUGO BOSS AG
Since 1995, HUGO BOSS has provided critical support to many Guggenheim programs. In addition to the Hugo Boss Prize, the company has helped make possible retrospectives of the work of Matthew Barney (2003), Georg Baselitz (1995), Ross Bleckner (1995), Francesco Clemente (1999–2000), Ellsworth Kelly (1996–97), Robert Rauschenberg (1997–98), and James Rosenquist (2003–04); the presentation
Art in America: Now (2007) in Shanghai; the Felix Gonzalez-Torres (2007) and Ed Ruscha (2005) exhibitions in the U.S. Pavilion of the Venice Biennale; and the exhibition
theanyspacewhatever (2008–09) at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. At the 54th Biennale di Venezia in 2011, the fashion and lifestyle group HUGO BOSS was the lead sponsor of the Allora & Calzadilla exhibition in the U.S. Pavilion. For more information about the prize, visit
hugoboss-prize.com.
HUGO BOSS Global Arts Program
Contemporary art is an integral part of the HUGO BOSS corporate culture. In conjunction with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum the Group established the Hugo Boss Prize in 1996, which has evolved into an internationally renowned art award. The prize was complemented by the HUGO BOSS Asia Art Award initiated in 2013 with the Rockbund Art Museum, focusing on upcoming Asian artists.
HUGO BOSS has also been supporting numerous international exhibitions of contemporary art. To date, these have presented works by Ross Bleckner (1995), Georg Baselitz (1995 and 1996), Dennis Hopper (2001), James Rosenquist (2003), Olafur Eliasson (2005) and Josephine Meckseper (2007). In 2012 HUGO BOSS sponsored the very first solo exhibition of Jeff Koons at a Swiss museum.
About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The global network that began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, has expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (opened 1997), the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin (1997–2013), and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (currently under development). The Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that celebrate contemporary art, architecture, and design within and beyond the walls of the museum, including the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. More information about the Foundation can be found at
guggenheim.org.
Watch Guggenheim curators describe the Hugo Boss Prize.
Learn more about the history of the Hugo Boss Prize, read about the finalists, and explore our newly created timeline and past-catalogue archive.
For general information, call 212 423 3500 or visit the museum online