Ida Ekblad MarIus Engh anawana haloba lars lauMann - Statoil

A WORD FROM THE JURY
As chair it is my great pleasure on behalf of the jury to present
the four worthy nominees for the Statoil art award 2009:
Ida Ekblad, Marius Engh, Anawana Haloba and Lars Laumann.
During the course of our deliberations this spring we met
three times in Berlin and once in Oslo. As we each brought
five artists to the table, we started with a longlist of 25. Our
objective was to agree on four nominees, which proved to be a
challenging task. Not only did we have to agree on what to look
for; there is also a wealth of outstanding talent to choose from
– which bodes well for the Norwegian art scene in the years to
come. We were quite surprised to learn that we had come up
with 25 different names independently of each other!
That said, we wish to emphasise that our decision was reached
by consensus and not by a vote.
The four nominees were chosen on the grounds of their
merits and their artistic promise. All of them sport restless,
international résumés to go with their skills and ability
– a testament to a driven and enthusiastic spirit.
At Kunstnerforbundet Gallery for Contemporary Art they have
produced an exhibition of diverse thematic concerns, showcasing
four very different artistic strategies. Their artworks are original,
strong, and well executed. It will indeed be challenging to single
out a winner among four so deserving candidates.
On this occasion I want to express my thanks to the other
members of the jury, Solveig Øvstebø, Caroline Ugelstad,
Øystein Ustvedt and Göran Christenson, for their stimulating
and dedicated commitment throughout this process. I would
also like to point out that the entire process has been very well
coordinated by Bjarne Våga, the patient secretary to the jury.
Embarking on the journey of a life as an artist is a bold move.
It takes enthusiasm, patience, practice and plenty of hard work
to succeed. Constant re-evaluation and an open mind are just
as important as perseverance. Accomplishments that expose
problems are often as valuable as successes, or even more so.
This is a road less travelled by, for a reason – but these four all
have what it takes.
Olav ChRistOpheR Jenssen
Chair of the jury
Statoil art award 2009
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