COLOGNE.- 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.

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.”

Dr. Yilmaz Dziewior, director of the Museum Ludwig and a member of the jury, adds: “2019 is a special 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.”

Mayen Beckmann, chairwoman of the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst, comments: “The task of updating 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 by artists 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 Hahn Prize 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.

Jac Leirner was born in 1961 in São Paulo, where she continues to live and work today. She had her first exhibition there, in 1982. In 1991 her work was shown in institutional solo exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. Since then, Leirner has continued to exhibit at numerous renowned institutions worldwide. She had a large retrospective at the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (2011), for instance, and exhibited at the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, in Mexico City (2014), as well as at the Museum of Contemporary Arts of Shanghai (2016) and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, in Dublin (2017). Leirner has also participated in several biennials: in 1989 and 1994 at the São Paulo Biennial, in 1990 and 1997 at the Venice Biennale, in 2000 at the Havana Biennial, and in 2005 and 2015 at the Bienal do Mercosul, in Porto Alegre. In Germany, Leirner’s works were shown in 1992 at documenta IX, in Kassel, and as well as in Cologne, at the Josef Haubrich Kunsthalle.