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2021
 
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News 2021

09.02.2021

SpallArt Prize Winner 2021: Elliott Mickleburgh

Sponsor: Sammlung SpallArt
Administered by the Salzburger Kunstverein, Austria

The Salzburger Kunstverein announces the winner of the 2021 SpallArt International Prize Salzburg, an international award for excellence in contemporary photography.

Sponsored by SpallArt, the SpallArt Prize Salzburg consists of €4,000, a one month artist residency (Oct 2021) and a solo exhibition at the Salzburger Kunstverein (Oct-Nov 2021).

Elliott Mickleburgh Winner of the 2021 SpallArt Prize Salzburg
There were 138 applicants received for the jury to review. After an intensive review and an established shortlist, it was decided that the winner is London-based, American photographer Elliott Mickleburgh.

The Jury consisted of Christiane Kuhlmann (former Curator Photography and Media Art, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg), Gregor Neuerer (Artist, Professor for Photography and New Media, Mozarteum University Salzburg) and Karin Peyker (Artist-Photographer, Board Member, Salzburger Kunstverein).

Jury Statement: SpallArt Prize Salzburg 2021

The jury was impressed by the overwhelming number of submissions and would like to thank all artists and their supporters very much. The proposals came from all over the world, which on the one hand proves the reach and attraction of the residency at the Salzburg Kunstverein. On the other hand, it also shows the enormous need for development opportunities and support for artists, such as Andra Spallart makes possible here.

Elliott Mickleburgh conceptual approach to his work impressed the jury above all else. Through the medium of photography, Mickleburgh examines social norms and questions notions of religiosity, which he balances with queer references.

He transfers biblical themes to our contemporary times while highlighting the artificiality of these ideas and studio photography itself. Colour bars are integrated into the composition; details of the Photoshop files are included in the title and are positioned directly on the print. This impression of unfinishedness is countered by the precise and exact execution of the image. Mickleburgh’s series on the appearance of the archangel Gabriel takes its cue from magazine culture, fashion or advertising photography. As a result, his eye-catching visual research is as much about the promises of the commodity world as it is about the spirituality of our time.

Mickleburgh completed his postgraduate studies with Sarah Jones at London’s Royal College of Art in 2020 with the theme The Artist as Frankenstein. In a performance, he argued that artistic practice should be integral to our world and society. This is an important statement in these crisis-ridden times.

The jury came to a unanimous decision. We are convinced that Elliott Mickleburgh will set an interesting impulse in the program of the Salzburger Kunstverein during his residency and with his resulting exhibition.

Elliott Mickleburgh is an artist and writer based in London. Recent exhibitions of Mickleburgh’s work includes With Fists, it Kicks, it Bites… at TJ Boulting in London; Everything the Same, Everything a Little Different at The Art Academy in London; and Rulers at Coco Hunday in Tampa. His academic writing has been included in print publications and online journals such as THE SEEN, Notes on Metamodernism, and Art in Print. His fiction has been included in the New York-based journal Storyfile as well as most recently in the catalogue Fall Into Place, published on the occasion of the aforementioned exhibition at TJ Boulting. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Visual Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Master of Arts in Photography from the Royal College of Art in London.

About Spallart
The art collection SpallArt arose from Andra Spallart’s enthusiasm for the diversity of possibilities that photography uses to obstruct, deny and challenge our perception. Andra Spallart first began acquiring contemporary photography and video in the 1980s. The collection commenced with a focus on contemporary Austrian photography and has broadened to a European and international focus. Since 2011, the collection has increased its visibility through various publications and exhibitions. Andra Spallart has presented for example curated exhibitions at the Foto-Raum in Vienna. After moving to Salzburg the collection thrives to this day. Today, temporary exhibitions at the Foto-Raum’s depot are shown under the title “Open Space,” conveying a sense of the collection’s breadth of photographic themes. The entire collection is also available online at www.sammlung-spallart.at

About the Salzburger Kunstverein
The SpallArt Prize Salzburg is administered by the Salzburger Kunstverein. Founded in 1844, the Salzburger Kunstverein is a long-running and leading contemporary art organisation specialising in contemporary art. Located in Salzburg, Austria, housed in the Künstlerhaus (built in 1885), the Salzburger Kunstverein organises about twelve exhibitions of international and Austrian artists annually, and generates discourse and other relevant programming through its lectures, residencies and screening programs. The Director since January 2014 is Séamus Kealy.

SpallArt Applicants:
Alltogether 138; female: 78, male: 60
Germany: 41
Austria: 33
USA: 8
Italy: 7
France, UK: 5
China, Spain, Canada: 4
Russia: 3
Iran: 2
Argentina, Australia, India, Belarus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Luxemburg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nigeria, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine: 1

Elliott Mickleburgh, Damnatio Memoriae (I’m not going to call you anymore, but I might still think about you now and then.), 2017, inkjet print and ink on exposed and unprocessed chromogenic paper, 20 x 25 cm, courtesy the artist

Elliott Mickleburgh, Damnatio Memoriae (I’m not going to call you anymore, but I might still think about you now and then.), 2017, inkjet print and ink on exposed and unprocessed chromogenic paper, 20 x 25 cm, courtesy the artist

Elliott Mickleburgh, Foto © Sara MarinangeliElliott Mickleburgh, XX.XX.XX (Blue Screen Cosmetics Test for the Archangel Gabriel), 2019, archival inkjet print, A3 sheet size, 40 x 50 cm framed, courtesy the artistElliott Mickleburgh, XX.XX.XX (Apple Box Elevations for the Archangel Gabriel’s Descent), 2020, spray paint and chalk on birch plywood apple boxes, 40 x 50 x 60 cm, courtesy the artistElliott Mickleburgh, XX.XX.XX (Prop Continuity Log for a Scene in the Archangel Gabriel’s Office) No. 1, 2021, archival inkjet print, A4 sheet size, courtesy the artistElliott Mickleburgh, jewelryColourways_SS19_BacklitConifer_38596.psd, 2018, E-6 slide film and transparent grip tape on panel, 25 x 20 cm, courtesy the artistElliott Mickleburgh, jewelryColourways_SS19_BalticExhale_59505.psd, 2018, E-6 slide film and transparent grip tape on panel, 20 x 25 cm, courtesy the artistElliott Mickleburgh, The Apparent Solar Time on 48° 25' 8Elliott Mickleburgh, Damnatio Memoriae (I’m not going to call you anymore, but I might still think about you now and then.), 2017, inkjet print and ink on exposed and unprocessed chromogenic paper, 20 x 25 cm, courtesy the artist