Hugo Boss Prize


The Hugo Boss Prize is awarded every other year to an artist working in any medium, anywhere in the world. Since its establishment in 1996, it has distinguished itself from other art awards because it has no restrictions on nationality or age. The prize is administered by the Guggenheim Museum and sponsored by the Hugo Boss clothing company, which since 1995 has been sponsoring various exhibitions and activities at the museum. It carries with it a cash award of US$100,000 and a tetrahedral trophy.
A jury of five to six curators, critics and scholars is responsible for the selection of the artists. They nominate six or seven artists for the short list; several months later, they choose the winner of the prize. In past years most nominated artists have been little known. In 1996 and 1998, the nominated artists exhibited their work at the now-defunct Guggenheim Soho, where a space on the second floor was named the Hugo Boss Gallery in 1996; since 2000, only the winning artist has shown his or her work.

History of the Prize

1996
The first Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to Matthew Barney, an American filmmaker and sculptor. The other nominees were:
1998
Douglas Gordon, a Scottish video artist, won the second Hugo Boss prize. The other nominees were:
2000
The third Hugo Boss Prize went to Marjetica Potrč, a Slovenian artist, architect and urban theorist working in sculpture and photography. The other nominees were:
2002
Pierre Huyghe, a French artist who works in multiple media, won the fourth Hugo Boss Prize. The other nominees were:
2004
The fifth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to Rirkrit Tiravanija, a Thai artist born in Buenos Aires who now works in New York, Berlin and Bangkok. The other nominees were:
2006
The sixth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to the British artist Tacita Dean. The other nominees were:
2008
The seventh Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to Palestinian Emily Jacir. The other nominees were:
2010
The eighth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to the German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann. The other nominees were:
2012
The ninth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to the Vietnamese artist Danh Vo. The other nominees were:
2014
The tenth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to the American artist Paul Chan. Other nominated artists were:
In March 2014, nominee Steve McQueen withdrew his name from consideration for the Hugo Boss Prize because of the demands of promoting his Oscar-winning movie 12 Years A Slave.
2016
The eleventh Hugo Boss prize was awarded to fhe South Korean conceptual artist Anicka Yi. The others nominees were:
2018
The twelfth Hugo Boss Prize was awarded to Simone Leigh an American interdisciplinary multimedia artist. The other nominees were: