German artist Wolfgang Tillmans is the winner of the 2015 Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography, which will be awarded in Gothenburg on 30 November 2015. Tillmans will receive the sum of SEK 1,000,000 (approximately €110,000), and his work will be the object of a new exhibition, opening at the Hasselbad Center in Sweden on 1 December 2015 in conjunction with the release of a new book by the artist.
The Hasselbad annual international award was created in 1980 by the Hasslebad Foundation with the aim of celebrating the achievements of a photographer, and is now considered the most important photography prize in the world, with previous winners including Irving Penn, William Klein, William Eggleston, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jeff Wall and Sophie Calle.
In a statement, The Hasselbad Foundation explained the decision of the jury: ‘Wolfgang Tillmans has established himself among the most original and innovative artists of his generation, constantly pushing the photographic medium in new directions. His practice has covered subjects of pressing political and social importance since the 1990s, reflecting both directly and indirectly on the power of the photographic image to engage critically with the world around us. Furthermore, Tillmans has transformed the understanding of photographic exhibition making through his daring and original installations, playing with scale, formats, framing and presentation to produce immersive experiences that have inspired subsequent generations of artists.’
Tillmans is currently on show as part of the collection at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, through 18 May, and his exhibition at the Hasselbad Center in Sweden will open 1 December 2015.
6 March 2015
