Camilo Ontiveros Wins $22,000 Illy Prize at 2010 ARCO Madrid
Camilo Ontiveros, whose work is represented by Steve Turner Contemporary, was awarded the 2010 illy Prize at ARCOMadrid. The award, created by illycaffè in cooperation with ARCO, the contemporary art fair held annually in Madrid, was made available to artists younger than 35 whose work was included in the special section, "Panorama: Los Angeles". The judging panel, consisting of two independent curators, Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles, together with Carlo Bach, illycaffè's artistic director, announced their decision at an award ceremony in the center of the fair:
"The work presented by this artist in this exhibition is not among the biggest or the brightest, but this does not prevent it from being among the boldest, and the most expansive. For this award, we chose, from among a group of impressive young artists, some of whom already have been acknowledged, an artist whose practice we believe embodies the experimental spirit that often has driven some of the most compelling work to have come out of Los Angeles, and that has defined the era in which Los Angeles has come of age as a cultural capital. This artist's work touches upon a complex range of genres and concerns, from immigration and urban economies to process art, minimalism and finish fetish. In his recent work involving the informal economy of in Los Angeles, this artist purchased old washing machines from used appliance dealers, refurbishing and refinishing some into glossy objects, which re-entered both the economy and culture as works of art while other machines, left as they were found, occupied a temporary role within an art installation, ultimately to be recycled as scrap metal. This project questioned the very definition of the art object and its value, while nonetheless celebrating the art object, and its complex position within culture. His practice is one that reveals itself as deeply concerned with the social, the situational, and the relational aspects of art, but one that also is born of a deeply personal inclination, and an affection for the experiential dimension of art. We are pleased to grant this award to Camilo Ontiveros".
The artists that were considered for the prize were: Tomory Dodge, Acme; Erik Frydenborg, Cherry and Martin; Walead Beshty and Andy Ouchi, China Art Objects; Ben Jackel, LA Louver; Brenna Youngblood, Margo Leavin Gallery; John Kleckner, Peres Projects; Erlea Maneros, Mario Correa and Kate Costello, Redling Fine Art; Camilo Ontiveros and Rowan Wood, Steve Turner Contemporary; Allison Cortson, The Happy Lion; Elliot Hundley, Regen Projects; Analia Saban, Thomas Solomon; and Jenni Spota and John Williams, Kathryn Brennan.
Born in Mexico in 1978, Camilo Ontiveros received an MFA from UCLA in 2009 and a BA from the UCSD in 2006. He is co-founder of Lui Velazquez, an artist residency program in Tijuana and co-founder of Imprenta, an alternative space in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. He had two solo exhibitions in 2009, the first at the Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena (curated by Andrew Berardini) and another at Steve Turner Contemporary. Ontiveros often uses found washing machines and other discarded appliances in his work. In so doing, he explores issues relating to immigration, the border between Mexico and the United States, unofficial economies, labor and most importantly, notions of value. Ontiveros received a prize of $22,000, as well as the opportunity to present illycaffè with a proposal for a range of art coffee cups for it’s illy Art Collection. Over the last 15 years, the company has produced other such works with leading international artists.
