Bronwyn Katz and Rene Matić Win the Spirit Now Acquisition Prize at Frieze London 2023
The two artists’ work has been selected by the Spirit Now London committee and will join the permanent collection at The Hepworth Wakefield
The two artists’ work has been selected by the Spirit Now London committee and will join the permanent collection at The Hepworth Wakefield
Spirit Now London has announced Bronwyn Katz (b.1993, South Africa) and Rene Matić (b.1997, UK) as the winners of the second edition of the Spirit Now London Acquisition Prize in partnership with Frieze London.
The selection committee was led by Marie-Laure de Clermont Tonnerre and composed of 17 members of the Spirit Now London Community and the leadership team of The Hepworth Wakefield, including Simon Wallis (Director), Olivia Colling (Deputy Director) and Laura Smith (Director of Collection & Exhibitions).
Katz’s large-scale installation Kx’orakx’ora (renew) (2022) and Matić’s two photographs Southbank Centre Dressing Room II, London (2023) and Freddie Getting Dressed, London (2023) have been acquired for The Hepworth Wakefield’s permanent collection.
Spirit Now London Acquisition Prize supports decentralized high-level institutions in the UK to bring more contemporary creation and diversity into their permanent collections. In 2022, the prize acquired a work by Sylvia Snowden for the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. This year, the Prize seeks to recognize the outstanding achievements of female and non-binary artists below the age of 40 at Frieze London.
Bronwyn Katz
b.1993, South Africa; works between Cape Town and Johannesburg
Katz’s practice incorporates sculpture, installation, video and performance to engage with the concept of land as a repository of memory and trauma. Working with found natural materials such as iron ore, or used man-made objects such as foam mattresses and bed springs, Katz’s approach to making is driven by storytelling and intuition.
Katz has featured in group exhibitions including ‘The Milk of Dreams’, the 59th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (2022); ‘Soft Water, Hard Stone’, the New Museum Triennial, New York (2021); the Future Generation Art Prize exhibition, PinchukArtCentre, Kyiv (2021); ‘Upkeep: Everyday Strategies of Care’, The Arts Club of Chicago (2020); We Aim to Live, Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga (2020); NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney (2020); ‘Là où les eaux se mêlent’, 15th Biennale de Lyon (2019) and Material Insanity, Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden, Marrakech (2019). She was shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize in 2021 and was awarded the First National Bank Art Prize in 2019. In 2022 Katz was selected as a protégé for the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, set to work with El Anatsui over a period of two years. Katz is a founding member of iQhiya, an 11-women artist collective that has performed across various spaces, including Documenta (in Kassel and Athens), Greatmore Studios and Iziko South African National Gallery.
Rene Matić
b. 1997, Peterborough, UK; works in London
Matić’s practice spans photography, film and sculpture, occupying a space they describe as ‘rude(ness)’. Matić draws inspiration from dance and music movements such as northern soul, ska and 2-Tone, delving into the complex relationship between West Indian and white working-class culture in Britain. The artist privileges queer/ing intimacies, partnerships and pleasure as modes of survival.
Matić’s works are in several prominent collections including Tate, London (UK); Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (FR); UK Government Art Collection, London (UK); Arts Council Collection, London (UK); South London Gallery, London (UK); Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (UK); Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol (UK); University of the Arts London Collection, London (UK).
More information
Frieze London and Frieze Masters take place concurrently from 11–15 October 2023 in The Regent’s Park, London.
Tickets
Early-bird tickets to the fairs are now sold out. Limited full-price tickets have just been released. Don’t miss out, book yours now.
Further Information
To keep up to date on all the latest news from Frieze, sign up to the newsletter at frieze.com, and follow @friezeofficial on Instagram and Twitter, and Frieze Official on Facebook.
Main Image: Bronwyn Katz, Kx’orakx’ora (renew), 2022, copper-coated wire, ruts and twine, 133 × 667 × 45 cm. Courtesy: Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Amsterdam
