Kubus. Sparda Art Prize 2022

The art prize “Kubus,” jointly established by the Sparda Bank Baden-Württemberg and the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, has been awarded every two years since 2013, and now, in 2022, for the fifth time. The prize, endowed with 20,000 euros, honors an outstanding artistic achievement regardless of the artist’s age. It is therefore neither an advancement award for younger artists nor one granted in recognition of an artist’s lifework. The only prerequisite for being nominated is that artists have a biographical link to the state Baden-Württemberg.

Since 2015, the “Kubus. Sparda Art Prize” has had an overarching theme. This year, three artists were nominated who approach sculptural concepts in very different ways. They will each present selected works on separate levels at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart. During the exhibition, a jury will select a winner. In addition, the Sparda Bank Baden-Württemberg will also offer a public choice award.

Ulla von Brandenburg’s (b. 1974) multimedia installations fuse elements of theater, dance, and folklore into stage-like productions. The artist intervenes in the sober architecture of the White Cube using color, floor-to-ceiling fabric panels, sculptural objects, videos, and performances to create sensually charged spaces in which visitors can immerse themselves. The resulting works blur the boundaries between performance and reality as well as performers and audience.

The atmospheric interplay of iron, glass, color and light is characteristic of the works of Camill Leberer (b. 1953), which are close to concrete-constructivist tendencies. The large-format, free-standing sculptures develop a spatial presence in dialogue with painterly wall pieces, which directly confronts the viewer and thus makes space experienceable in a special, physical way.

Ülkü Süngün (b. 1970) founded the “Institut für Künstlerische (Post-)Migrationsforschung” in 2017, making her social and socio-critical investigations into migration, identity, and memory structurally visible. Artistically, she gives expression to her projects, which are process-oriented and participatory, in different media such as performance, installation and photography.