The sculpture, entitled Growth Structures, Metamorphoses of Substance, is a column of concrete, of the type used in communist-era pre-fab housing estates, and old Russian books. It is the work of media artist Márta Rácz, sculptor Mátyás János Hübler and architects Tamás Szentirmai and János Vági.
"This work leaves nobody untouched... It is a vain effort to bury these disgarded books about ideologies under concrete...we are unable to because we grew up with them," said the exhibition's Hungarian curator Sári Stenczer, who lives in Paris
The award was presented by President of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine Patrick Devedijan at the opening of the exhibition. The award comes with a cash purse of EUR 1,000, a scholarship and the chance to organise a solo exhibition.
The Jeune Création Contemporaine travelling biennale was held in an old factory converted into a 4,000-square-metre exhibition space in the small town of Montrouge, near Paris, between September 26 and October 25. Ninety artists from nine countries were invited to participate, including ones from Austria, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Slovakia.
The ten Hungarian works in the show were selected by a professional jury at the Young Contemporary Statements exhibition held with the participation of the Hungarian Institute in Paris at the Zsolnay porcelain factory in the Hungarian city of Pécs. The exhibition was part of the run-up to the Pécs2010 European Capital of Culture programme.
Stenczer said that while contemporary artists in Western Europe reflect on social problems in their works, Hungarian artists choose other topics as they find there is little interest in the subject. Regardless, the Young Contemporary Statements show drew 230 submissions in the social problems category, she added. Thirty-eight of the works were shown in Pécs and the best ten went to France.
The jury of the Jeune Création Contemporaine also expressed appreciation of miniature water colours by the Hungarian Eszter Szabó. Szabó's work will be the cover art for the next monthly programme guide published by the Hungarian Institute in Paris, said director András Ecsedi-Derdák said.
The Jeune Création Contemporaine will show in Pécs from September 2010.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
