Colombian artist Doris Salcedo was awarded the inaugural Nasher Prize from the Nasher Sculpture Center for her influence in the field of sculpture. Over the past 30 years, Salcedo has created sculptures and installations using ordinary objects—such as chairs, shoes, roses and bricks—as declarations of loss and tribute.
This is the first Nasher Prize to be awarded; its aim is to present it yearly to active artists as a recognition of their abilities and work in the form of sculpturing. The Nasher Sculpture Center is one of the only institutions in the world exclusively dedicated to exhibiting and studying modern and contemporary sculpture.
Salcedo was selected by an international board of art experts who studied over 100 nominees. She will be receiving $100,000 and an award designed by Nasher Sculpture Center architect, the acclaimed Renzo Piano, at a celebration on April 2, 2016, in Dallas, Texas.
“Through her use of meaningful, everyday materials, often in unexpected and socially-charged public spaces in her native Colombia and elsewhere around the world, Doris Salcedo has created a body of work that is both aesthetically striking and politically resonant,” said Nasher Sculpture Center Director Jeremy Strick in a press release. “With this subtle and deeply evocative work, she has bravely challenged us to consider more fully the deep connections between place, history, and objects that carry the weight of collective memory, suggesting avenues of thinking that tie together object-making and potent social action.
Nicholas Serota, event director of London's Tate Modern, said they were looking for an artist who took risks.
"Doris Salcedo has created a memorable work that addresses the conflict. The most important thing is that their work continues to evolve and change both conceptually and aesthetically while working social and political problems that are important to us today,” he said.
Salcedo's work is currently in display at the Guggenheim Museum until October 12.