The Baloise Art Prize, given to two presentations at Art Basel’s Statements section, has this year been awarded to the London-based artist Rhea Dillon and the Lebanese Canadian artist Joyce Joumaa.
With Soft Opening gallery, Dillon shows Leaning Figures, a series of wall-based sculptural works for which she has replicated cut-crystal plates, casting them in resin mixed with molasses and soil from Jamaica. The work has been acquired by the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) in Frankfurt as part of the prize.
Joumaa was awarded for her installation Periodic Sights with Montreal’s Galerie Eli Kerr. Consisting of repurposed fuse boxes, illuminated and refitted with photographs of everyday scenes from Beirut and Tripoli, the work comments on Lebanon’s energy crisis. Periodic Sights was acquired by Mudam Luxembourg.
