Bronwyn Katz awarded the 2019 FNB Art Prize

Bronwyn Katz - © Nokuthula-Mbatha

Katz says: “I'm both honoured and excited to receive the FNB Art Prize for 2019. Thank you to FNB and FNB Art Joburg for making it possible, to the jury for choosing me as the recipient and to my gallery, Blank Projects, for their support.”

Born in 1993 in Kimberley, Katz lives and works in Johannesburg. Incorporating sculpture, installation, video and performance, Katz’s practice engages with the concept of land as a repository of memory, reflecting on the notion of place or space as lived experience – and the ability of the land to remember and communicate the memory of its occupation.

Using found materials as the departure point for her works, Katz’s approach to making is driven foremost by formal concerns such as composition and line, expressed in an abstract minimalist language. Conceptually, her sculptures refer to the political context of their making, embodying subtle acts of resistance that draw attention to the social constructions and boundaries that continue to define those spaces.

Katz has held five solo exhibitions to date, most recently at Blank Projects in Cape Town (2019) and A Silent Line, Lives Here at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2018).

She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including The Empathy Lab (Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, 2019); Material Insanity (Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech, 2019); Road to the Unconscious (Peres Projects, Berlin, 2019); Sculpture (Institute of Contemporary Art Indian Ocean, Port Louis, Mauritius, 2018); Tell Freedom (Kunsthal KAdE, Amersvoort, 2018); Le jour qui vient (Galerie des Galeries, Paris, 2017); and the 12th Dak’Art Biennale (Senegal, 2016).

Bronwyn Katz - x (2019)

She is a founding member of iQhiya, an 11-women artist collective – which has performed across various spaces, including Documenta (in Kassel and Athens), Greatmore Studios and Iziko South African National Gallery.

Blank Projects owner Jonathan Garnham says: “We are extremely proud of Bronwyn for being awarded the FNB Art Prize. Her unique practice speaks to a singular vision that is both compelling and breaks new ground. The prize is not only a well-deserved acknowledgement of her exceptional talent and hard work but will, hopefully, also inspire young practitioners to be adventurous and pursue their careers with conviction.”

Bronwyn Katz, Untitled - Notes in Translation (i)

The 2019 FNB Art Prize recipient was selected by a committee made up of Nicole Siegenthaler, fair manager FNB Art Joburg; Alissa Jenkins, a collector; and Ashraf Jamal, an art critic. The committee looked for innovative proposals that demonstrate new explorations in the artists’ practice and proposals were required to be based in the realm of 3D, sculpture and/or installation work.

Each main section and lab exhibitor could nominate one artist from their stable, including a brief exhibition/project outline indicating what the artist would work towards during residency if selected, along with images of the artist’s work.