COURTESY LA BIENNALE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN ANGLET
Parisian artist Julien Prévieux was named the winner of the 2014 Prix Marcel Duchamp on Saturday. Awarded by Association pour la Diffusion Internationale de l’Art Français in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and FIAC, the Prix Marcel Duchamp is given annually to a French artist worthy of international recognition. This year’s other finalists were Théo Mercier, Florian & Michael Quistrebert, and Evariste Richer.
Known for his offbeat installations that expose society’s reliance on technology, Prévieux was nominated for What Shall We Do Next (2006–2011), a video installation about hand gestures related to the way people use laptops, game consoles, and other electronic devices, all of which were patented by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between 2006 and 2011. The gestures—removed from their context and function, and crudely rendered using a pair of grey, computer-generated hands—are shown on a wall using an overhead projector. The work was also conceived as choreography, which was performed by professional dancers and actors.
Prévieux, who is represented in Paris by Jousse Entreprise, has been awarded €35,000 and a solo show at the Centre Pompidou in September 2015. The exhibition will have a €35,000 production budget, also awarded as part of the prize winnings. The Pompidou show will be the first time Prévieux has exhibited his work at a major Parisian museum.