Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa and EXILE were selected as the winners of the viennacontemporary | Bildrecht SOLO Award 2023, when Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa (*1975) impressed the jury with an installation consisting of video, sculpture, drawing and object. viennacontemporary visited the Vienna-based artist in his studio.

Watch the video below:

 

 

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Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa and EXILE at
viennacontemporary 2023

 

Images: Niko Havranek, Mariia Yeroshkina, Maria Belova

 

About the prize:

The viennacontemporary | Bildrecht SOLO Award honors an outstanding solo presentation at Austria’s international art fair. The award is endowed with 4,000 euros and 2,000 euros each go to the artist and the exhibiting gallery.

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Jury statement

Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa (*1975) impressed the jury with an installation consisting of video, sculpture, drawing and object. In it, his own identity appears as a reflection of conflict-laden socio-political structures. The homeliness suggested by the images and objects is fragmented in itself and refers to current fault lines in society. Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa formulates controversial themes such as everyday racism, nationalism, and migration with a lightness that combines the poetic with the political. With this position, the stand represents the commitment of the EXILE Gallery, which consistently establishes the connection between art and political history.

Jury 2023

Rainer Fuchs (MUMOK), Maximilian Geymüller (Kunsthalle Wien), Roman Grabner (BRUSEUM, Neue Galerie Graz), Nina Schedlmayer (art critic), Tina Teufel (Museum der Moderne Salzburg), Chair: Günter Schönberger & Esther Mlenek (Bildrecht, Vienna)

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Abdul Sharif Oluwafemi Baruwa

born 1975 in London, lives and works in Vienna. Recent exhibitions include: Land, property and Commons, curated by Hedwig Saxenhuber, Semmering 2021 and the Artist in Residence, Fogo Island Arts 2019, the Festival of Regions, Lungitz with Antoine Turillon and Seth Weiner (2023), Black Pages 1-100, Franz Josefs Kai 3, Vienna (2023) and Hier und Jetzt, Neuer Kunstverein Wien (2023).

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Discover the winners of the viennacontemporary | Bildrecht SOLO Award 2024 this September!

 

SAVE THE DATE
viennacontemporary
International Art Fair
September 12-15, 2024
Messe Wien, Halle D