'The temperature is rising, and so is the excitement!' was the headline in the newsletter prior to the award ceremony on Saturday 10 June. And it got hot that day, above 30 degrees Celcius!
After a welcome speech by Petra Cardinaal, who explained to the audience that the Harry Pennings Prize was her gift to Harry when she took over Galerie Pennings in 2006, she gave the floor to the jury. Hendrik Driessen (curator and former director of Museum De Pont) and Roos Schouw (editor-in-chief Focus) took turns reading part of the jury report. The third jury member, photographer Martijn van de Griendt, was unable to attend.
From the jury report:
In this age of abundance of visual information, the photographic image still plays an important role. In all this literal and figurative violence there is also room for narrative photography, tranquil snapshots and technical experiments. And this selection for the Harry Pennings Prize shows that the quality of that work can be of a high level. The work in this exhibition is distinctive and surprising. They are images that touch you. Of the work of each nominee one could make a beautiful, large exhibition.
After reading the jury reports of all nominees, the jury announced how they came to the choice of the overall winner:
‘Art is making choices and making choices is art. This applies to both the artists and the jury. The jury based itself on the presentations on the walls.'
They then announced the winner:
‘The winner of the 2023 Harry Pennings Prize is Jasper van den Ende.’
The jury on Jasper van den Ende (project Exposure Value ZERO/)
"Wonderful presentation. It's a good idea to paint the wall dark and to focus the attention completely on the image. In a time when technically everything is possible, this photographer goes back in time. Overexposure has been used to highlight the abundance of artificial light. The image makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, due to the reference to the time when photography originated and these types of urban landscapes were popular subjects, but also due to the somewhat annoying overexposure and the cropping that sometimes seems coincidental. That is precisely what makes the work exciting.'
Public Award
The winner of the public award was also announced. It was a close finish, but the prize went to Wiosna van Bon for her project Family Stranger.
The prizes were presented by Françoise Pennings, the widow of Harry Pennings. photos Will Rooijakkers
Artists Henk Visch and Lex van Lith in conversation with Petra. And of course time for a drink. Photos Will Rooijakkers
Music was taken care of by Nick Lebeat. The jury members chatted with the winners and other exhibitors. photos Julia van den Broek
For more information about the Harry Pennings Prize 2023 and the projects of the nominees, see blog #47. The exhibition is on show until 24 June 2023.