NEW YORK.- AXA Art Insurance, the world's premier art insurance specialist, announced today that American sculptor Nancy Rubins has selected Los Angeles based sculptor and Carnegie Mellon University and UCLA alumna Katie Grinnan as the recipient of the 2007 AXA Artist Award. Ms. Grinnan will be presented the award and cash grant at The 2007 International Collectors’ Dinner in celebration of Art Basel Miami Beach, to be held at the Margulies Warehouse this evening.

“It is a pleasure to present the 2007 AXA Artists Award to Katie Grinnan, who is an outstanding young artist,” commented Nancy Rubins. “Through this grant, AXA Art is generously helping in the continuing development and expansion of Katie Grinnan’s new work. It is a delight to know that AXA Art is directly supporting young practicing artists in this way.”

Katie Grinnan was born in Richmond, Virginia. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1992 and received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University the same year. Since completing her graduate studies at UCLA in 1999, she has exhibited at New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art at Altria and held a solo show at the Pomona College Museum of Art. Other exhibitions include the Aspen Art Museum, ACME Los Angeles, Snapshot at the UCLA Hammer Museum, and the 2004 Whitney Biennial. Ms. Grinnan was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006.

Over the years, AXA Art Insurance has been actively involved in sustainable philanthropic activities in support of the international art community. Since 1999, the company has initiated three groundbreaking conservation grants dealing with the ageing and preservation of new materials used by artists since the first quarter of the 20th century. In 2006, AXA Art inaugurated an annual award for emerging and under-recognized artists.

In receiving the announcement of her selection, Katie Grinnan commented, “I’m thrilled to have been chosen for this award and am grateful to AXA Art for their support. It will help me continue my work and complete projects that I’ve been working on for several years. I’m also extremely grateful to Nancy Rubins for selecting me. I am such a fan of her work!”

Since the early 1980s, Nancy Rubins has been creating gigantic sculptural installations using various discarded objects such as airplane parts and cut-up boats. Born in Naples, Texas, Ms. Rubins now lives and works in Topanga Canyon, California.

“AXA Art is very passionate about giving back to the community of artists whose works serve as a foundation for many of our clients’ collections,” offers Christiane Fischer, CEO of AXA Art USA. “The art world challenges collectors to understand and embrace the ever-changing boundaries of contemporary art. We’re interested in supporting the creation of new work and funding research that enhances the preservation of important works of art. Our goal is to foster the creation of great art and conserve the works for the benefit of future collectors.”