Agata Ingarden, Yan Tomaszewski, Marta Romankiv are the three artists who impressed the jury with their works and won the first edition of the international competition for visual artists — Allegro Prize.

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MAIN AWARD: 

AGATA INGARDEN (FR) — 35 000 PLN

In Agata Ingarden’s works, uncertainty about the future seeps and leaks before our eyes, like liquid sugar, which is one of the materials in her installations. What awaits us in the future that emerges from her implementation? A dystopian world, and in it — our home. The home of our memories, the one that we are trying to build here and now. Ingarden shows great sensitivity of materials, shapes and their properties. Her organic sculptures, with a strong sense of independency, absorb our reality — homes and office spaces. These sculptures are like independent organisms discussing over again the relationship between nature and technology. Loss, trembling, fear, instability — Ingarden’s voice is the voice of young generation, for whom time is of particular importance — its passing is the only certainty they have.

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SECOND AWARD:

YAN TOMASZEWSKI (FR) — 10 000 PLN

As an art historian, Yan Tomaszewski roots his works in the avant-garde. As an artist — he builds his own alternative space. In his creative practice, the creative history process parallel to the official one is preceded by a thorough research. The end result of this research is a video work, equally based on facts, as fiction/beliefs. It creates a whole universe of artificial objects, foreign organisms, colourful characters, and emotions.

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THIRD AWARD: 

MARTA ROMANKIV (UA/PL) — 5 000 PLN

Despite Romankiv’s young age, she is a very conscious, mature, and socially engaged artist. She boldly enters the public space to tackle the major problems of eastern labour migration. Her gestures of whitening flags or postulate to lift borders, albeit they result directly from the geopolitical relations between Poland and its neighbours, seem to have a universal value and the potential to resonate in many places in the modern world. In search of another person — the Other, withdrawn and hidden in the shadows of hard work, Romankiv comes out of the safe space for an art institution to infuse into an artistic gesture new agency of political importance.

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We are positively surprised by the number of applications and the quality of the submitted portfolios. The selection of winners was not easy because the projects represented very different fields of art: from artistic photography and performance art, to installations and even sound art. After heated discussions and a difficult process of selecting the winners, we only regret to not have been able to reward or distinguish everyone who deserved it. We have many talented artists, and we are glad that thanks to the Allegro Prize, we can support them financially and in terms of recognition.

Special Mentions:

Anna Zaradny (PL)

Anna Zaradny THE SOUND OF A DISTANCED BODY 2020 from Anna Zaradny on Vimeo.

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Magda Lazar (UK)

Magdalena Lazar, Laboratory of living sentiments, 2019, MeetFactory, Praga, courtesy of the artist

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Rafal Zajko (UK)

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Horacy Muszyński (PL)

Horacy Muszyński, RIXT, 2020, video, 16:9, 40 min, courtesy of the artist

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Open Group (UA/PL)

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Barbara Gryka (PL)

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Honza Zamojski (PL)

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Veneta Androva (DE)

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Emilia Kurylowicz (DE)

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Paweł Starzec (PL)

Bridge on the Drina Titular bridge on the Drina from Ivo Andric novel, Old Bridge in Visegrad, pictured during muncipal water jumping contest. Old Bridge was used to execute civilians in the presence of other city inhabitants — people were killed by having their throats slit, or thrown to the water and being shot at.

„What is worth mentioning is the high level of the submitted works. What is very noticeable is the strong presence of new media, video works, and artistic action. However, the artists rarely limit themselves to only one technique — to express their troubling ideas, they reach for all means of expression available, crossing the boundaries of thereof. What draws attention is the extraordinary sensitivity of young artists to current topics and problems. Their creativity is a social barometer showing burning and often unknown issues/problems.”

— commented Dobromiła Błaszczyk and Sylwia Krasoń, editors-in-chief of Contemporary Lynx Magazine and the co-organisers of the Allegro Prize.

The winners were selected by the jury composed of: Anda Rottenberg — the most outstanding art critic and curator in Poland; Jakub Julian Ziółkowski — painter, sculptor cooperating with the Foksal Gallery Foundation and Hauser&Wirth Gallery; Werner Jerke — art collector and founder of Museum Jerke; Brodka — pop singer, art aficionado and collector; Łukasz Ronduda — art historian, university lecturer, writer, screenwriter, film director, and curator of the Modern Art Museum in Warsaw; Jacek Weichert — director of Culture and Entertainment and Art segment at Allegro; Dobromiła Błaszczyk and Sylwia Krasoń — editors-in-chief of the Contemporary Lynx Magazine.

Organisers: Allegro, Contemporary Lynx Magazine.

Partners: Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej (Friends of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw), Towarzystwo Zachęty Sztuk Pięknych (the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts)

Media Partners: Vogue Poland, Magazyn Szum, Artinfo, NOIZZ, ONET

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