3/12/19 The 5th Annual GFAA Awards Winners Announced

The Global Fine Art Awards announces the 5^th Annual GFAA Award Winners

New York, NY March 12, 2019

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, The Global Fine Art Awards (GFAA) honored this year’s 94 nominees and announced the 15 award winners, 8 honorable mentions and a special award for the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time initiative, PST:LA/LA, that comprised more than 70 exhibitions and projects throughout Southern California in the fall of 2018.

The 5th Annual Award Ceremony and Gala was held at the historic Harold Pratt House in New York.  The event was hosted by the American Alliance of Museum’s Dean Phelus, GFAA Founder and President, Judy Holm, and the GFAA Advisory Board. Peter Trippi, a member of the GFAA Executive Committee and Judge Emeritus, served as the Master of Ceremonies. Trippi is editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.

GFAA Judges selected 13 winners– one in each of the following categories: Contemporary and Post-War – solo artist; Contemporary and Post-War – group or theme; Impressionist and Modern – solo artist; Impressionist and Modern- group or theme; Renaissance, Baroque, Old Masters and Dynasties – solo artist; Renaissance, Baroque, Old Masters and Dynasties  – group or theme; Ancient Art; Photography; Design; Fringe; Public Art; Global Planet and Global Humanity (the new awards that premiered last year). Two additional awards, called Youniversal and YOU-2, were given to the most popular nominees as selected by public voting on the GFAA website and via social media.

The magnitude of PST:LA/LA transcended any of the individual GFAA award categories. Its significance to the art world rendered it a selection of the GFAA judges for a first-time independent award.

The complete list of Winners and Honorable Mentions

Italy received a total of 6 nominations and was awarded 3 of the highly coveted awards.

Dr. James Bradburne, GFAA Judge and Director General of the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Biblioteca Braidense, Milan stated:

“The GFAA is the world’s leading recognition for excellence in exhibitions, and it should be no surprise that Italian institutions feature prominently among the award winners. As a foreigner who lives and works in Italy at the helm of one of the country’s leading state museums, I have seen at first hand the role of Italian foundations in creating world class exhibitions, and applaud their ability to champion innovation and creativity, the hallmarks of Italian culture.”

In continuing GFAA’s recognition of social issues addressed by many artists and institutions, GFAA premiered a new award category this year called Global Artists. This category distinguishes the lifetime body of work of the nominated artists. The new award is juried but does not designate a single winner. The six GFAA Global Artists are: Ansel Adams, Olafur Eliasson, Alfredo Jaar, Keith Haring, Doris Salcedo and David Goldblatt.

The gala event was attended by more than 30 of this year’s nominees, including:

• Michael Frahm, artistic director of Blenheim Palace Art Foundation, representing “Softer” and nominated artist Jenny Holzer
• April Moorhouse, Head of Membership & Programmes at Royal Academy America
• Joan Weinstein, Acting Director of the Getty Foundation
• Alexandra Munroe, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Samsung Senior Curator, Asian Art and Senior Adviser, Global Arts
• PACE Gallery Director Samanthe Rubell, representing Nominated artist Fred Wilson
• Suzanne Deal Booth, Philanthropist and collector; Founder of the Suzanne Deal Booth Art Prize (at The Contemporary Austin)
• Louis Grachos, Executive Director and CEO, The Contemporary Austin
• Vicente Todoli, artistic director of the Pirelli HangarBicocca
• Marina Pugliese, co-curator of nominated exhibition, Lucio Fontana. Ambienti/Environments, HangarBicocca, Milan; Creative Director Future Humans Archive Berggruen Institute; Faculty California College of the Arts
• Ruth Berson, Deputy Museum Director, Curatorial Affairs at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Caitlin Haskell, Gary C. and Frances Comer Curator of International Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago
• Peter Drummond-Hay, Chairman of the American Patrons of the National Library and Galleries of Scotland
• Mario Mainetti, Head of Research and Publication, Fondazione Prada
• Gianfranco Brunelli, Director Musei San Domenico
• Bill Beekman, Director of the American Friends of the National Gallery, London
• Sarah Beam-Borg, Senior Exhibitions Manager, Aga Khan Museum
• Konstantin Akinsha, Guest Curator, Ludwig Museum, Hungary
• Viktoria Popovics, art historian and curator, Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest
• Lilly Tuttle, Curator at Museum of the City of New York
• Eva Respini, Chief Curator, ICA Boston
• Jennie Goldstein, Assistant Curator, the Whitney Museum of American Art
• Martin Moeller, Jr., Senior Curator, National Building Museum, Washington D.C.
• Joanne Pillsbury, Andrall E. Pearson Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art world luminaries supporting GFAA also attended the event, including:

• Nicola Bulgari, Vice Chairman, Bulgari
• Lucia Boscaini, Brand and Heritage Curator, Senior Director BVLGARI Spa
• Renato Miracco, former Cultural Attache at Italian Embassy, Washington D.C.
• Paolo Barlera, Attache for Cultural Affairs, Italian Cultural Institute New York
• Victoria Duffy Hopper, CEO Art Media Holdings
• Ben Hartley, Executive Director at the National Arts Club
• Jessica Porter, Executive Director at ArtTable
• Javier Lumbreras, CEO of Artemundi
• Philippe Hoerle-Guggenheim, Gallery Owner, Philanthropist and Collector
• Gallery partners from Gagosian.

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About the GFAA Program

Launched in 2014 by Judy Holm, The Global Fine Art Awards (GFAA) are the first annual awards ever created to recognize the best curated art and design exhibitions and installations worldwide. The GFAA program honors innovation and excellence in exhibition design, historical context, educational value and public appeal. The program’s mission is to develop interest and passion for fine art, and further its educational role in society. GFAA endeavors to be the premier global art and design award program and to elevate the importance of fine art in the world today.

About the 2018 GFAA Nominees

Geographic, scale, ethnic and gender diversity are essential in the GFAA research and nominating process.

• 94 nominees this year represent works in six continents, 31 countries and 49 cities – featuring many new artists, initiatives and countries- including Estonia, Hungary, Turkey and Chile.
• 22 of this year’s nominees (23%) are in or about the art and artists of Asia, Africa and the Middle Eastern.
• 15 of this year’s nominees (16%) feature Latin American artists, in six Latin American countries and in diaspora.
• In one of the highest profile categories – Best Contemporary and Post-War Art, 30% of the Nominees are women.
• Less than half of the GFAA nominees exhibited in the top 100 art museums visited in the world (The Art Newspaper,April 2017), whereas the majority emanate from smaller institutions and other venues.

The GFAA judging, research and nominating processes

Throughout the year, GFFA’s Art Research Committee searches to identify the best exhibitions and installations across the globe. A broad set of criteria is utilized to research and assess the prospective nominees, with continuous review of over 50 sources of print and online art editorial and critiques. Through these sources and personalized assessments based on exhibition viewing, more than 200 museums and 2,000 exhibitions are vetted during the annual research. In addition to the research-based nominations, GFAA accepts open calls from museums, biennials, fairs, galleries and other art organizations. Individual patrons may nominate their favorite exhibitions as well.

The Nominating Committee reviews the slate prepared by the Art Research Committee and presents their findings and final approvals to the judges. The judges modify and select the final slate of nominees, then vote on the finalists and winners.

The timeframe for eligibility this year was for exhibitions and installations opening between Aug 1, 2017 and Jul 31, 2018. The basic criteria for eligibility in the juried awards is that the nominated exhibit or installation must be curated.

Another integral aspect of the GFAA program is to engage the general public and include their voice in the program results. Public voting takes place online from Jan 14 to 27, 2019 and the most popular exhibition wins the Youniversal Award.  The second public award, YOU-2, is selected from twitter votes.

GFAA Team

Founder and President, Judy Holm, and more than 30 dedicated professionals with extensive experience in art, academia, technology and business are committed to the future of the Global Fine Art Awards program and its mission. They represent a truly global perspective, with nationalities from 21 countries and 4 continents.

 GFAA Judges

• Savita Apte, art historian and lecturer specializing in Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art
• James M. Bradburne, director general of the Pinacoteca di Brera and the Biblioteca Braidense, Milan
• Gina Costa, art historian and curator, previously at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Art Institute of Chicago
• Joe Lin-Hill, deputy director of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery
• Dean Phelus, American Alliance of Museum’ssenior director of Leadership Programs

 GFAA Research and Nominating Committee

• Research Chair Kimberly Lin– BA in Art History in modern and contemporary art, UC Berkeley; degree in fashion design, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; Post War Contemporary Art program, Sotheby’s London
• Nominating Committee Chair Betsie Piussan– MBA from NYU; BA Stanford University, studied at l’Université de Paris and l’Ecole du Louvre, design certificate NY School of Interior Design
• Peter Trippi– Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur magazine; GFAA Judge Emeritus
• Salwa Mikdadi– associate professor of Art History, NYU Abu Dhabi
• Patricia Lannes– founder of Cultures & Literacies through Art for the 21st Century; Chair Global Latino Network AAM
• Renee Farina– Biennale di Firenze (Florence) International Selection Committee; gallery owner; formerly of Christie’s Masters, Modern and Contemporary Departments, NYC, former GFAA research committee chair

 GFAA 5^th Annual Award Ceremony Sponsors

Benefactor Event Sponsor: Leila Heller Gallery

Copperfield Advisory, Ironhorse Vineyards, Eli Klein Gallery, PACE Gallery,  Sullivan Media Group | SMG Marketing  

GFAA Cultural Collaborators & Media Partners

ART MEDIA Holdings (Art in America, ARTnews Magazine, The Magazine ANTIQUES and MODERN), The Armory Show, Alserkal Avenue (Dubai), American Alliance of Museums (AAM), Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), De la Cruz Collection (Miami), DSL Collection (Paris), Edward Tyler Nahem Gallery, Family Office Elite magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, Fractured Atlas, Galerie Lelong & Co., Gladstone Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Leighton House Museum (London), Leila Heller Gallery (New York and Dubai), Mapme, Marlborough Gallery, Masterpiece London, National Arts Club, Onassis Foundation USA, Traveling Exhibits Network, Vastari, White Rabbit Collection (Sydney)

Media inquiries:

Copperfield Advisory – USA                                                                                                      

andrewn@copperfield.nyc

Carolyn Cruz – International

carolyn.cruz@gmail.com

globalfineartawards@gmail.com

globalfineartawards.org

GFAA is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purpose of GFAA must be payable to “Fractured Atlas” only. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides a fiscal sponsorship program to help arts organizations raise money from charitable sources.