Marina Xenofontos: Winner of the 2022 Emerging Artist Prize
The Athens-based artist, who is represented by Hot Wheels Athens, will realise a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2023
The Athens-based artist, who is represented by Hot Wheels Athens, will realise a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2023
Camden Art Centre and Frieze announce Marina Xenofontos as the recipient of the 2022 Camden Art Centre Emerging Artist Prize at Frieze. Xenofontos, who is represented by Hot Wheels Athens, will realise a solo exhibition at Camden Art Centre in 2023.
The annual Emerging Artist Prize – unveiled for the first time at Frieze London 2018 and now in its fourth year – offers invaluable critical exposure to an emerging artist, concurrent with their first show at a London institution. The prize winner 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.
Hot Wheels, Athens was selected from the 35 galleries from 21 countries in the Focus section of Frieze, London, the fair’s celebrated section supporting younger galleries and artists in earlier stages of their careers.
Courtesy of the artist and Hot Wheels, Athens
The 2022 Prize was selected by a panel chaired by Martin Clark (Director, Camden Art Centre), with Kiera Blakey (Exhibition Curator, Camden Art Centre) and Hammad Nasar (Curator, writer, and strategic advisor). A group of UK and international patrons have generously supported the Prize, including Lead Supporters Alexandra Economou, Noach Vander Beken and supporters Nicola Blake, Anne-Pierre d’Albis, Suling Mead, Ralph Segreti, Sophie and Ronald Sofer, Batia Ofer and Alma Zevi. 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 are delighted to award this years prize to Xenofontos. An artist who was new to all of us on the panel, but whose work immediately resonated in its compelling strangeness, elegance and depth. We are so pleased to be able to continue to support young and emerging practice in this way, at a time when it feels even more urgent to create these kinds of opportunities for artists, as well as spaces of risk and experimentation within our institutions.”
About the Winner
Marina Xenofontos (1988) was born in Limassol, Cyprus and works between Athens, Greece and Paris, France. She is a sculp-for working through installation, painting, photography, and vid-eo, and was one of the founding members of the collective and artist-run project space Neoterismoi Toumazou. Her practice involves reforming found objects and material she then pairs with novel constructions - kinetic sculptures, light installations, digital avatars and their analogue representations. These elements are not necessarily connected on a formal level, but are entangled by their idiosyncratic ties in history and politics. Consisting of physical objects, but also of written words and fragmented narratives, her practice acts as a poetic declaration. Xenofontos often documents and exhibits what could be considered malfunctions from the manufacturing of products, history, and her own practice; affirming them as breeding ground for further invention. Viewing cultural and political symbols through an intimate gaze, Xenofontos’ work captures methods for recovering the fantastical, imaginary aspects of culture obscured through historical/ideological recording.
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