The Armory Show 2024 has named Bahamian sculptor Anina Major the winner of its annual Pommery Prize, supported by Pommery Champagne. The prize grants $20,000 to a single artist from the fair’s Platform section, which is dedicated to large-scale installations and was curated by Eugenie Tsai this year. TERN Gallery is showcasing Major’s sculpture, The Landing (2024).
Positioned at the heart of the Platform section, The Landing showcases multiple ceramic sculptures that resemble woven baskets. These sculptures are placed on two wooden platforms, evocative of a dock. Above, a rotating blue neon sign reads “All Us Come Across Water.” This installation addresses themes of migration and movement, particularly significant to the artist’s home country. The dock’s pallet-like design alludes to persistent commerce in Caribbean ports and the artist’s personal experience moving from the Bahamas to the United States.
“Anina’s work is a testament to the power of creativity and its ability to manifest from the most unexpected places,” said Amanda Coulson, founding director of TERN Gallery. “With her woven vessels, she pays homage to her artistic lineage through her grandmother who passed down the knowledge of straw plaiting which Anina reinterprets in clay. That this most humble of Bahamian traditions—now sadly becoming a lost art due to environmental destruction and invasive forms of touris—is honored this way in the global stage is incredibly meaningful.”
Previous winners of the Pommery Prize include Barthélémy Toguo, whose sculpture was presented by Galerie Lelong & Co in 2023, and Reynier Leyva Novo, whose work was shown by El Apartamento in 2022.
Meanwhile, the TPC Art Finance Presents Prize has been awarded to Alexandra Barth, whose work is being shown by Mrs. This prize is given to one gallery in the Presents section, which is dedicated to young, emerging galleries. Lastly, the Sauer Artist Prize has been awarded to Oliver Herring, whose work is featured at BANK’s booth in the Focus section.
