Artists of the Week 06/13/05

Normally I reserve this column for artists who are perhaps "underappreciated," and although the following winners of the Venice Biennale awards can no longer be considered "underappreciated," their achievement deserves special notice, IMO. So here they are---this year's Golden Lion and other winners:

• Golden Lion to an individual artist: Thomas Schütte from Germany, whose sculpture in the Italian pavilion (see image to right) should not be confused with the work of Thomas Scheibitz, who with Tino Sehgal represented their nation in the German Pavillion.
• Golden Lion for an artist under 35: Regina José Galindo of Guatemala.
• Golden Lion for a national pavilion: France: for Annette Messager's installation about the Pinocchio.
• The award for a young Italian artist: Lara Favaretto.
• Golden Lion for lifetime achievement: Barbara Kruger of the USA (see one of my favorite pieces by her below).
• And curator extraordinaire Harald Szeemann was posthumously awarded a special Golden Lion.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Barbara Kruger, Untitled (You Construct Intricate Rituals), 1981, Black and white photograph, 40" x 50".