<p>Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director, S&atilde;o Paulo Museum of Art</p>

Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director, São Paulo Museum of Art

13 September 2018

Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director at the globally renowned São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), Brazil, has been appointed as the international judge for this year’s Walters Prize, the ninth iteration of New Zealand’s premier contemporary art prize.

Pedrosa is an eminent Latin American writer and critic and internationally recognised for his curatorial work across significant biennial platforms, including São Paulo, San Diego/Tijuana (inSite) and Istanbul. He will announce the winning artist at the Walters Prize award dinner to be held on Friday 2 November 2018.

The Walters Prize 2018 exhibition showcasing the work of the four finalists – Ruth Buchanan, Jacqueline Fraser, Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, and Pati Solomona Tyrell – is currently open at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Auckland Art Gallery Director Rhana Devenport ONZM says she is delighted to announce Pedrosa as the Walters Prize 2018 judge.

‘We are privileged to have Adriano Pedrosa as our judge and to be able to connect him with New Zealand’s dynamic art community, continuing our work to forge strong relationships across the Global South. As an active and highly innovative curator of international regard, Pedrosa has an exceptional reputation and is a leader in contemporary art in South America and beyond.’

‘Pedrosa continues a legacy of high-calibre judges for the Walters Prize since its inception in 2002', says Devenport.

Previous judges have been Harald Szeemann (2002), Robert Storr (2004), Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (2006), Catherine David (2008), Vicente Todolí (2010), Mami Kataoka (2012), Charles Esche (2014) and Doryun Chong (2016).

The four finalists were nominated by an independent jury for the following works:

  • BAD VISUAL SYSTEMS, 2016, by Ruth Buchanan, exhibited at the Adam Art Gallery Te Pātaka Toi, Victoria University of Wellington, 2 October – 22 December 2016
  • The Making of Mississippi Grind 2017, 2017, by Jacqueline Fraser, exhibited at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 20 May – 15 October 2017
  • Whol Why Wurld, 2017, by Jess Johnson and Simon Ward, exhibited at Carriageworks, Sydney, 30 March – 25 June 2017
  • Fāgogo, 2017, by Pati Solomona Tyrell, exhibited at ST Paul Street Gallery, Auckland, 8 June – 21 July 2017

The winning artist, as judged by Pedrosa, will receive $50,000 in addition to the finalist award for each artist of $5,000.

For more information, high-res images and interview requests contact:

Samantha McKegg, Communications Officer, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
+64 21 548 480
samantha.mckegg@aucklandartgallery.com   
 

Exhibition details:

The Walters Prize 2018
Saturday 18 August to Monday 28 January 2019                                 
10am to 5pm daily, except Christmas day

 

About Adriano Pedrosa:

Adriano Pedrosa is artistic director of MASP–Museu de Arte de São Paulo. He was adjunct curator of the 24th Bienal de São Paulo (1998), curator in charge of exhibitions and collection at Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte (2000–03), co-curator of the 27th Bienal de São Paulo (2006), curator of InSite_05 (San Diego Museum of Art, Centro Cultural Tijuana, 2005), artistic director of the 2nd Trienal de San Juan (2009), curator of 31st Panorama da Arte Brasileira–Mamõyaguara opá mamõ pupé (Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, 2009), co-curator of the 12th Istanbul Biennial, and curator of the São Paulo pavilion at the 9th Shanghai Biennale (2012). Other exhibitions include F[r]icciones (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, 1999); Desenhos: A-Z (Museu da Cidade, LIsboa, 2008); The Traveling Show and El Gabinete Blanco (Colección Fundación Jumex, Mexico, D.F., 2010); Conversations in Amman (Darat Al Funun, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, 2013); artevida (Casa França Brasil, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Escola de Artes Visuais e Cavalariças do Parque Lage, Biblioteca Parque Estadual, Rio de Janeiro, 2014); Histórias Mestiças (Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, 2014).