Jac Leirner wins the Wolfgang Hahn Prize

Museum Ludwig in Cologne has awarded the Twenty-Fifth Wolfgang Hahn Prize to Brazilian artist Jac Leirner. The Wolfgang Hahn Prize honors exceptional contemporary artists on an annual basis. Leirner is the first South American artist to win the prize of 100,000 euros. On the occasion of the awarding of the prize, Museum Bags (1985/2018) will be acquired by the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst for the collection of the Museum Ludwig and presented within the context of the permanent collection. Also, in conjunction with the prize, a publication produced in collaboration with the artist will be issued by the Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst. Jac Leirner (Born 1961) is a Brazilian artist, best known for the sculptures and installations she creates though a process of collecting and ordering; from mundane objects and ephemera, including devalued bank notes, used envelopes, promotional tickets, empty cigarette packets and plastic shopping bags. Jochen Volz, the director of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and a guest juror for this year's prize, said "Jac Leirner is one of the most important exponents of Conceptual Art today as well as of so-called Institutional Critique. Since the 1980s her sculptures, paintings, and installations have questioned the notion of the original and the value of artworks." The name of the prize honors the memory of the passionate collector and painting conservator Wolfgang Hahn (1924–1987), who was committed on many levels to the art of the European and American avant-garde in Cologne.