The Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) and the BNP Paribas Foundation Switzerland announced the winners of the New Heads-BNP Paribas Foundation Art Awards, created to support and encourage the most promising graduates of the prestigious art school.

Giovanni Carmine, exhibition curator and current Director of the Kunsthalle in St. Gallen, was asked to curate the exhibition that brought together 15 of the artworks submitted for the awards. The resulting show, entitled “The Heap”, is open to the public at LiveInYourHead, in Geneva, until 27 October 2012.

The jury, composed of 5 professionals and experts particularly attuned to the young artistic art scene in Switzerland and across Europe, distributed the following 4 awards on September 18:

1. Sabrina Soyer (1984) and Sacha Béraud (1985) were recognized for the great generosity sensed in their highly diverse œuvre, right through to their publications on paper that they made themselves. Their way of introducing their art into the history of modernity attracted the jury’s lively attention. They will moreover have the opportunity to publish a multiple work produced by Le Temps newspaper.

2. The work of Nelly Haliti (1987), inspired by the famous lemons painted by an artist of the Spanish Golden Age, Francisco de Zurbaran, could make one think that she is a painter. However, she adds a surprising serial dimension to this fine art research. In a state of constant renewal, Nelly Haliti’s work is found where you least expect it, ranging from photography to installation to performance.

3. The work of Isabella Girtanner (1984) was rewarded for its poetry and its sensitivity. Her contribution to the exhibition is almost imperceptible (here, a raised doorstep, there, a pipe painted black or a bowl placed on a cornice). Her œuvre requires visitors to be highly attentive even as it takes possession of the entire space with precision, delicacy and mastery.

4. A fourth prize was awarded by the employees of the BNP Paribas Group in Switzerland who were invited to vote by internet on the bank’s website. They selected the work of Josse Bailly (1977).

Each prize is accompanied by a bursary of 12,000 Swiss francs, representing financial support vital for creative production and for the artists’ entry into the professional world. In addition, they will have the opportunity for their work to become part of the prestigious collection assembled by the BNP Paribas Foundation Switzerland.

For the next three years, le New Heads-BNP Paribas Foundation Art Awards, with the help of visiting curators, are committed to helping shape and support the Swiss and European art scene, bringing to light its central issues.

Practical information
Exhibition dates 19 September – 27 October 2012
LiveInYourHead, Curatorial Institute of HEAD – Geneva, 4 rue du Beulet, 1203 Geneva
Free Admission
Open Wednesday to Saturday, 14.00 – 19.00