ALFREDO JAAR RECEIVES THE 65th EDWARD MACDOWELL MEDAL
Chilean-born visual artist, architect and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar is this year’s recipient of the 65th Annual Edward MacDowell Medal, for his outstanding contributions to American culture in the field of “Visual Arts.” His poetic photographs, films and elaborate installations confront the greatest socio-political issues of our time, including genocide, the displacement of refugees, war, corruption and economic inequality.
Jaar was celebrated during a public outdoor celebration on Sunday, June 29th featuring activations of his work and open studios with MacDowell’s artists-in-residence. “I am deeply honored to receive this award, following in the footsteps of so many extraordinary intellectuals who have inspired me throughout my career. I am truly moved and humbled,” said Alfredo Jaar.
Chiwoniso Kaitano, Executive Director of MacDowell, said: “Over four decades, Jaar’s singular contribution to the world of visual arts has pushed the boundaries of our collective consciousness. His work at the intersection of art and social justice is more necessary than ever before. We look forward to Jaar joining our MacDowell community in celebration this summer in Peterborough, New Hampshire.”
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Alfredo Jaar. Photo Jee Eun Esther Jang (Courtesy Galerie Lelong)
The Medal is awarded annually to an artist whose body of work continues to provide impact and inspiration to other artists and to the public. Jaar joins a notable cohort of past Medal recipients in the field of Visual Arts including: Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keefe, Charles Gaines, Edward Hopper, Betye Saar, Nam June Paik, Kiki Smith, and Jasper Johns, among many others.
Sarah Arison (President, Arison Arts Foundation and Board President, MoMA) chaired this year’s Medal selection panel, which included luminaries of the arts world including Michi Jigarjian, Connie Butler, Derrick Adams, Franklin Sirmans, Koyo Kouoh, Dahlia Elsayed, and José Parlá.
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View of Alfredo Jaar: One Million German Passports, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, 2023. © myrzikundkjarisch
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Alfredo Jaar. Muxima [a], 2004. Lia Rumma. Color photograph face-mounted on plexi, grey frame, 39.5 x 96.5 x 3.0 (cm). (Art Basel)
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Alfredo Jaar. Life Magazine, April 19, 1968, 1995. Galerie Lelong. Photography suite of three pigment prints on Innova paper of 10, 121.9 x 243.8 (cm) (Art Basel)
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Alfredo Jaar. A Logo for America, 1987. Digital color video, with sound, 10 min., 25 sec. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift of the artist on the occasion of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, 2014
“Our panel was unanimous in our decision to recognize Alfredo Jaar as one of the leading contemporary artists working today,” Arison said of the selection process. “His work is both innovative and uncompromising as it examines our relationship to the world and engages with some of the most urgent questions of our time.”
MacDowell, the nation’s oldest and preeminent artist residency program, has awarded the Medal annually since 1960 to giants of the art world, whose body of work has profoundly influenced generations of other artists as well as the public. Past honorees include luminaries such as: Thornton Wilder, Toni Morrison, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Joan Didion, David Lynch, Nan Goldin, Robert Frank, Sonny Rollins, and Yoko Ono, among others.
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