Guggenheim Announces Short List for 2020 Hugo Boss Prize

Six artists have been short-listed for the Hugo Boss Prize 2020. The short-listed names were selected by a panel of international curators and critics recognizing artists whose work is transforming the field.

The prize, founded in 1996, has consistently functioned as a platform for presenting what is most relevant and influential art of today.

The Hugo Boss Prize recognizes the achievements of both emerging and established artists, and sets no restrictions in terms of age, gender, nationality, or medium.

The winner will receive an honorarium of $100,000 and the name will be announced in the fall of 2020, followed by a solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in spring 2021.

The following artists are finalists for the Hugo Boss Prize 2020 — Nairy Baghramian (b. 1971, Isfahan, Iran); Kevin Beasley (b. 1985, Lynchburg, Va.); Deana Lawson (b. 1979, Rochester, N.Y.); Elias Sime (b. 1968, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia); Cecilia Vicuña (b. 1948, Santiago, Chile); and Adrián Villar Rojas (b. 1980, Rosario, Argentina).

The 2020 jury is chaired by Nancy Spector, Artistic Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The jurors are Naomi Beckwith, Manilow Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Katherine Brinson, Daskalopoulos Curator, Contemporary Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Julieta González, independent curator; Christopher Y. Lew, Nancy and Fred Poses Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art; and Nat Trotman, Curator, Performance and Media, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Former winners include names such as English artist Tacita Dean (2006); German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010); Danish artist Danh Vo (2012); American artist Paul Chan (2014); American artist Anicka Yi (2016); and American artist Simone Leigh (2018) among others.

“On the occasion of the thirteenth Hugo Boss Prize, I’m delighted to announce the finalists for the 2020 cycle,” said Nancy Spector, Artistic Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and jury chair. “After a rigorous examination of today’s artistic landscape, the jury identified a group of artists whose practices are beacons of cultural impact. While diverse in their approaches and themes, they each exemplify the spirit of experimentation and innovation that the prize has always championed.”

Image: Cecilia Vicuña, Cloud Net, New York, 1999. Site-specific installation with unspun wool. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul.