Award of the cdw sponsorship prize

The jury screened approximately 37 final projects by graduates and master students of the Kunsthochschule, which were exhibited in the documenta hall from December 9 to 16. The exhibition was not open to visitors due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The positions of the exhibitors were presented digitally on the platform examen20[dot]de. The prize was awarded for final projects that generate excitement and curiosity for further work. The prize money is earmarked for the creation of a new artistic position, which the award winners will exhibit at EXAMEN 2021.

The jury consisted of: Susanne Hesse-Badibanga (documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH), Alexandra Berge (Kasseler Kunstverein), Thomas Flügge (cdw Stiftung gGmbH), Anna Holzhauer (Kunsthochschule Kassel) and Helena Schätzle (artist).

Among the prize winners* in 2020:

Thomas Reymann (prize money 5,000 euros)
The jury unanimously decided in favor of the work "it s nice to be Thomas Reymann" by Thomas Reymann because the artistic independence in the choice of form and artistic approach is striking and remarkable. Reymann refuses any affirmative assignment of the "I-have-seen-it-before-or-it-looks-like..." Constantly he seems to follow his analytical interest to pursue the questions "What is a picture?" or "What is color?". For all its independence, the work does not stand outside the historical or aesthetic discussion of painting in Europe after 1945. Thomas Reymann pursues the consistent and unwavering continuation of this discourse in his artistic practice.

Nico Buurman (prize money 2,500 euros)
In his work "I will survive", Nico Buurman deals with his own relationship to nature and the social construction of masculinity, critically questioning both. From this personal approach, he explores man's general relationship to nature. Buurman portrays and stages himself as a white man in the periphery of Kassel, that is, on the border of civilization, which he declares to be wilderness. He poses the question of where nature begins and whether our current understanding of nature and our longing for supposedly untouched nature are in many cases not outdated attributions that feed on a romantic idea of nature that has long since ceased to exist in this form.

Fiona Sophie Körner (prize money 2,500 euros)
Fiona Sophie Körner was awarded another second prize for her work "Shoes can change your life". The jury was impressed by the artist's approach to the promise of happiness. In the norm of the model house, the white nuclear family is found again, reflecting certain family and social structures - this also reaffirms a normative. The various media with which Körner works and which illuminate the dream from different angles result in an overall mood that exposes and that also calls one's own dreams into question. This led to a confrontation with the jury's own life plans and values, which was thought-provoking and led to discussions.

About the sponsorship award
The sponsorship award is intended for the production of a new artistic work, which is to be presented again as an alumni project at the exam exhibition in the following year. The EXAMEN offers an important platform for exchange, networking and sustainable promotion of the professional entry of the graduates.

Press contact
Çiğdem Özdemir
Kunsthochschule Kassel
presse[at]kunsthochschulekassel.de