The five artists shortlisted for the fifth Max Mara Art Prize for Women have been announced by the Whitechapel Gallery and Max Mara.
The artists, selected by a judging panel chaired by Whitechapel Gallery Director Iwona Blazwick and including Lisa Le Feuvre (Henry Moore Institute), Candida Gertier (Outset Contemporary Art Fund) and artist Runa Islam, are: Beatrice Gibson, Melanie Gilligan, Judith Goddard, Philomene Pirecki and Corin Sworn.
The prize, founded in 2005, aims to promote and support female visual artists based in the UK. This year’s shortlist features four London-based artists and one – Sworn – based in Glasgow. The prize is open to artists working in any medium who have not previously had a solo survey exhibition.
Film features widely in the shortlisted artists’ work, with all but Pirecki having worked widely in the medium. Video artist Goddard, whose practice spans four decades, is the veteran of the shortlist. Canadian artist Sworn, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art MFA, is one of three artists currently representing Scotland at the Venice Biennale.
The winning artist will be awarded a six-month residency in Italy, followed by a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery and Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Following a presentation from each of the shortlisted artists on their residency proposal, the winner will be announced in early 2014. Last year’s prize was won by 2013 Turner Prize nominee Laure Prouvost.
