Camille Henrot Wins Nam June Paik Award

French artist Camille Henrot has won the 2014 Nam June Paik International Media Art Award. The New York-based artist, who will receive a cash prize of $32,000, was selected unanimously by the jury, including Princeton Professor Thomas Y. Levin and WIELS director Dirk Snauwaert.

The award was given based on an exhibition staged at the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, with solo presentations by the four shortlisted candidates, which included Ulf Aminde, Cory Arcangel, and Thomson & Craighead, as well as Henrot.

It’s been a busy couple of years for Henrot. Her video Grosse Fatigue (2013), which she produced as a Smithsonian Artist Research fellow, caused an international sensation last summer. Screened as part of the 55th Venice Biennale, it won her the Silver Lion prize for a Promising Young Artist in the International Exhibition. A number of solo exhibitions followed her success at the Biennale, including at the New Museum (New York), the Chisenhale Gallery (London), Bétonsalon (Paris), and the Schinkel Pavillon (Berlin).

Henrot has also been nominated for the 2014 Hugo Boss prize, the winner of which will be announced later this year. She has also found the time to co-curate the exhibition “Puddle, pothole, portal”, which opens on October 5th at the Sculpture Center in New York.

Manuel Graf is this year’s recipient of the Nam June Paik Newcomer Award, which rewards an emerging artist from North Rhine-Westphalia with a $15,000 cash prize.