Rob Pruitt.
The December issue of A.i.A. hosts the Rob Pruitt Art Awards, a partly tongue-in-cheek celebration of artists, exhibitions and curators, founded by the New York-based artist in 2009. The magazine invited Pruitt to publish the awards in the magazine this year as an artist’s project, commissioned to help celebrate the magazine’s 100th anniversary. To select those recognized with awards, Pruitt invited members of the art community to propose nominees and to vote for winners online. New York-based art collective DIS designed the magazine’s cover and the trophy.
The nominees and winners will be honored at a party in Miami Beach during the 12th edition of the Art Basel Miami Beach art fair.
“I’m so proud of the issue, and so much work went into it from so many people, so I wanted a tasteful cocktail party,” Pruitt told A.i.A. “But then I sabotaged that, because I thought, what party is complete without a karaoke machine and a stripper pole? We will hand out awards for the best karaoke performance and the best choreography on the stripper pole—not for best curator of the year or anything. I’m particularly hoping Klaus Biesenbach will participate in the karaoke section of the evening.”
The award winners and nominees are:
Artist of the Year
Rosemarie Trockel
Nominees
Carol Bove
Jeff Elrod
Jay DeFeo
Ken Price
Paul McCarthy
Bjarne Melgaard
Llyn Foulkes
Laura Owens
James Turrell
New Artist of the Year
Sam Falls
Nominees
DIS
Marie Karlberg
Josh Kline
Lena Henke
Blogger/Critic of the Year
Andrew Russeth
Nominees
Linda Yablonsky
Jerry Magoo
Roberta Smith
Paddy Johnson
Exhibition of the Year Outside the U.S.
Mike Kelley
Nominees
“Hilma af Klint: A Pioneer of Abstraction”
“When Attitudes Become Form: Bern 1969/Venice 2013”
Steve McQueen
“Sturtevant: Leaps Jumps and Bumps”
Gallery Solo Show of the Year
“12 Paintings by Laura Owens,” Laura Owens
Nominees
“Life Cast,” Paul McCarthy
“Echo Paintings,” Jeff Elrod
“Soul,” Ugo Rondinone
Virginia Overton
Museum Solo Show of the Year
“Wade Guyton Os,” Wade Guyton
Nominees
“Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective,” Ken Price
“Jack Goldstein x 10,000,” Jack Goldstein
James Turrell
Llyn Foulkes
Gallery Group Show of the Year
“The Cat Show”
Nominees
“Jew York”
“Freak Out”
“Made in Space”
“Lat. 41° 7′ N., Long. 72° 19′ W”
Museum Group Show of the Year
“Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925”
Nominees
“NYC 1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star”
“Expo 1: New York”
“Gutai: Splendid Playground”
“We the People”
Alternative Project of the Year
Cleopatra’s
Nominees
Arts at the Armory
Artists Space
356 S. Mission Rd.
Gramsci Monument
Art Fair Booth of the Year
Know More Games
Nominees
Ramiken Crucible
Gavin Brown’s enterprise
Marian Goodman Gallery
Real Fine Arts
Artist Book of the Year
“On Onions,” Elad Lassry
Nominees
“Life As a Readymade,” Darren Bader
“A Bell is a Cup,” Matt Connors
“A New Novel,” Bjarne Melgaard
“Vanilla Partner,” Torbjørn Rødland
Museum Catalog of the Year
“Ken Price Sculpture: A Retrospective,” Stephanie Barron et al.
Nominees
“Do It: the Compendium,” Hans Ulrich Obrist, ed.
“Thomas Bayrle: All-in-One,” Devrim Bayar et al.
“Wade Guyton Os,” Scott Rothkopf et al.
“James Turrell,” Carmen Giménez et al.