The installation artist from Mexico is the 16th winner of the CHF100,000 ($106,000) prize, awarded annually by the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, where Ortega will hold a solo exhibition next year.
The jury was particularly impressed by how Ortega’s method “always combines the large-scale gesture with a subtle feeling for the poetics of the everyday”, Museum Haus Konstruktiv wroteExternal link on Wednesday.
Ortega, from Mexico City, was born in 1967, and worked as a political cartoonist before embarking on an art career. In 2003, he gained attention at the 50th Venice Biennale with “Cosmic Thing” – a fully dismantled Volkswagen Beetle whose individual parts were suspended from the ceiling, giving the impression of a technical diagram of the car hanging in space.
Following this, the Museum writes, Ortega’s installations have tended to be made from everyday products, but which are stacked, twisted, or dismantled, in a practice that “consistently raises questions about the historical, political and economic conditions of their production in a global context”.
Ortega has also worked in the mediums of sculpture, photography, film, and performance art.
The award is divided into a CHF20,000 prize and CHF80,000 of funding to organise a solo exhibition in the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, which will begin on October 26, 2023. Last year’s winner of the prize, and the current exhibitor, is Kapwani Kiwanga.
Basel’s Fine Arts Museum previously held a solo exhibition of Ortega’s work in 2004.
More
More
Kapwani Kiwanga wins Zurich Art Prize
This content was published on
French-Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga has been awarded the 15th Zurich Arts Prize.
This content was published on
The "Dubai chocolate" has also caused a rush in Switzerland: queues formed outside the Lindt chocolate factory in Kilchberg, canton Zurich, on Saturday morning.
This content was published on
Stargazers currently have the chance to spot shooting stars in the night sky. Until November 30, the Leonid meteor shower is lighting up the darkness.
Nationalisation suggested to save Red Cross Museum
This content was published on
The director of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva is calling for a national debate on the institution's future.
Climate: 224 Swiss companies announce CO2 reduction targets
This content was published on
A total of 224 companies from Switzerland have joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), committing to CO2 reduction targets that are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Swiss political class divided over reform of EU asylum pact
This content was published on
As a result of the EU's Migration and Asylum Pact, Switzerland must adapt five laws linked to the Schengen/Dublin agreements.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Theatre director Milo Rau wins Swiss culture prize
This content was published on
The St Gallen Cultural Foundation has awarded a special prize to Milo Rau, the Swiss theatre director, writer and filmmaker.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.