Estonian artist Marge Monko wins Henkel Art.Award. 2012

November 1, 2012
Author Echo Gone Wrong
Published in News from Estonia

For the first time the Henkel Art.Award. is given to an Estonian artist. An international jury of experts consisting of museum specialists, artists and curators decided to give the award to Marge Monko, an Estonian artist born in Tallinn in 1976. This year precisely 931 works of art were submitted for evaluation by young artists. The prize includes two individual exhibitions and a monetary prize of 7,000 euros – thus comprising a total value of 35,000 euros.

“With this art prize Henkel aims to make a contribution to the cultural understanding of the Eastern Europe region. We are delighted that artists in more than 20 countries in the region have submitted more than 25,000 works of art over the past eleven years”, says Günter Thumser, President of Henkel CEE, on the occasion of the gala award ceremony held at the Imperial Stables of the museum moderner kunst – mumok (Museum of Modern Art) in Vienna.

The Henkel Art.Award. has proven to be a significant and sustainable initiative to promote young, promising art in the Eastern European countries. “The consistent commitment of Henkel serves as the basis for an expanded perspective of the European and international art scene. As the entries and nominations demonstrate, it also provides a deeper insight into the interrelationships between societal developments and artistic perception. We are happy to be able to present this prize in mumok in cooperation with KulturKontakt Austria, and also honor the winner by holding an exhibition of her works of art“, states Rainer Fuchs, jury spokesman and chief curator at mumok.

Young Artist’s Prize for Austria and CEE also awarded:

The Young Artist’s Prize Austria, designed to promote young Austrian artists and which features a monetary prize of 2,000 euros, was also granted for the seventh time at the Henkel Art.Award. gala. This year the prize went to Maureen Kaegi. The artist residing in Vienna impressed the jury with her extensive portfolio of different types of art. Her preferred techniques are photography, videos, drawing and painting, which are closely interrelated in her installations.

Furthermore, the Young Artist’s Prize CEE, granted within the framework of the Artists-in-Residence program of KulturKontakt Austria, will also be presented at the gala award ceremony. This award, which has been granted each year over the last eleven years, was given to the Russian artist Olga Jitlina. She was convincing thanks to her videos and interactive installations, with which she makes reference to current problems in Russian society, such as the situation of migrant workers from the former Central Asian Soviet republics living in large Russian cities.

Further information can be found at: Henkel Art.Award.

Have a glimpse of selected works by Marge Monko:

Tableaux I from the series Studies of Bourgeoisie, 2004-2006, c-print, 98x85 cm.

Tableaux I from the series Studies of Bourgeoisie, 2004-2006, c-print, 98×85 cm.

Kreenholm#3 from the series Fall of Manufacture, 2008-2012, pigment print, 75x75 cm.

Kreenholm#3 from the series Fall of Manufacture, 2008-2012, pigment print, 75×75 cm.

Kreenholm#10 from the series Fall of Manufacture, 2008-2012, pigment print 75x75 cm.

Kreenholm#10 from the series Fall of Manufacture, 2008-2012, pigment print 75×75 cm.

A still from the photo film Noras Sisters, 2009, single channel with voice over, 7:20

A still from the photo film Noras Sisters, 2009, single channel with voice over, 7:20

A still from video Forum, 2009, two channels with sound, 23:42

A still from video Forum, 2009, two channels with sound, 23:42