Jack O’Brien Wins the 2023 Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze London
The London-based artist, who is represented by Ginny on Frederick, will realize a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2024 as part of the prize
The London-based artist, who is represented by Ginny on Frederick, will realize a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2024 as part of the prize
Camden Art Centre and Frieze have announced Jack O’Brien as the winner of the 2023 Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze. O’Brien, who is represented by Ginny on Frederick, London, will realize a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2024. The announcement comes as last year’s winner, Marina Xenofontos, opens her solo show at Camden Art Centre.
The annual Emerging Artist Prize – unveiled for the first time at Frieze London 2018 and now in its fifth year – offers invaluable critical exposure to an emerging artist, concurrent with their first major show at a London institution. The prizewinner will be supported by the experienced Camden Art Centre curatorial team, and the show will be underpinned by an extensive programme of public talks and events.
Ginny on Frederick was selected from 34 galleries from 18 countries in the ‘Focus’ section of Frieze, London, the fair’s celebrated section supporting younger galleries and artists in early stages of their careers.
The 2023 prize was selected by a panel chaired by Martin Clark (Director, Camden Art Centre), with Gina Buenfeld Murley (Curator, Camden Art Centre) and Nicole Yip (Chief Curator, Nottingham Contemporary). A group of UK and international patrons have generously supported the prize, including lead supporters Alexandra Economou and Noach Vander Beken, and prize supporters Nicola & Julian Blake, Anne-Pierre d’Albis, Suling Mead, Batia Ofer, Ralph Segreti, Ronald & Sophie Sofer, Alma Zevi and Indira Ziyabek. These patrons share an interest in supporting the work of emerging artists and the economy of younger galleries within the contemporary art scene.
Martin Clark, Director, Camden Art Centre, said of the winner: ‘We can’t wait to start working with Jack on his show at Camden Art Centre next year. It feels like a really important and timely moment for him. It’s only the second time we’ve made the award to a London-based artist and gallery, and it feels like such an energized time in London at the moment, with so many brilliant new galleries opening and so many exciting young artists living and working here.’
O’Brien said: ‘[I’m] honoured to have been selected for the Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze this year. I’ve always resonated with Camden’s considered and experimental programming and very excited to start working towards my first institutional solo exhibition there next year as a result of this prize.’
For more than 25 years Camden Art Centre has been committed to supporting and nurturing artists in the formative stages of their careers. The Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze continues this work, building on the gallery’s previous collaborations with artists including Walter Price, Christian Nyampeta, Ruth Ewan, Jennifer Tee and Haroon Mirza. Previous winners include Wong Ping (2018); Julien Creuzet (2019); Tenant Of Culture (2020), and Marina Xenofontos (2022), whose major exhibition ‘Public Domain’ is currently on view at Camden Art Centre until 30 December, 2023.
About the winner
Jack O’Brien (b. 1993) lives and works in London. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include: ‘The Answer’, Sans Titre Invites, Paris, FR (2023); ‘To More Time’, Lockup International, London, UK (2022); ‘The Influence of Emotions on Associated Reactions’, with Henryk Morel (1937-68), Polamagnetczne Gallery, Warsaw, PL (2022) and ‘Waiting For the Sun to Kill Me’, Ginny on Frederick, London, UK (2021). Recent group exhibitions include: ‘Support Structures’, Gathering, London, UK (2023); ‘Memory of Rib’, N/A Gallery, Seoul, KR (2022); ‘Chômage Technique’, Lovaas Projects, Munich, DE (2022); ‘Something Is Burning’, Kunsthalle Bratislava, SK (2022); ‘An Insular Rococo’, Hollybush Gardens, London, UK (2022) and ‘Strange Messengers’, Peres Projects, Berlin, DE (2018).
FURTHER INFORMATION
About Frieze Viewing Room
Frieze Viewing Room is a free digital platform connecting global audiences with Frieze’s galleries and artists.
Open to all from 4–18 October, Frieze Viewing Room is the catalogue for Frieze London and Frieze Masters 2023, offering visitors a preview of the wealth of gallery presentations coming to the fair, as well as the chance for audiences around the world to experience and acquire the artwork on show.
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Thumbnail and main image: Jack O’Brien, Here and There, 2023 Inkjet digital print mounted on steel, spray paint, heat formed PETG plastic, halogen light bulbs, chrome plated-steel 80 x 61 x 11cm
