The Baloise Art Prize, a $36,800 award given out to two artists participating in the Statements sector of Art Basel annually, has this year gone to Rhea Dillon and Joyce Joumaa.
Dillon’s work was brought to the fair by London’s Soft Opening gallery, whose booth showcased her “Leaning Figures” sculptures made from materials such as soap and molasses. As Nicole Kaack wrote in the recent “New Talent” issue of Art in America, Dillon produces “visceral portraits of postcolonial Black experiences from everyday objects, symbols, and language.”
Joumaa, a participant in last year’s Venice Biennale, is showing at Art Basel with Montreal’s Eli Kerr Gallery, whose booth is devoted to an installation by her called Periodic Sights. The piece features photographs of sights seen in Tripoli and Beirut—Joumaa splits her time between that latter city and Amsterdam—and are intended as a comment on energy crises afflicting countries such as Lebanon.
The Baloise Art Prize tends to recognize artists on the cusp of a big break, with past winners including Tino Sehgal, Simon Denny, Tourmaline, and Haegue Yang. It recognizes artists participating in the fair’s Statements section, where galleries turn over their booths to single-artist presentations.
This year’s jury included Karola Kraus, director of mumok in Vienna; Bettina Steinbrügge, director of MUDAM in Luxmebourg; Susanne Pfeffer, director of the MMK Frankfurt; Susanne Titz, director of the Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach; and Uli Sigg, a well-known collector.