About a decade ago, Deutsche Bank initiated the “Artist of the Year” program. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, and on the recommendation of the advisory curators Victoria Noorthoorn, Hou Hanru, and Udo Kittelmann, it is now for the first time awarding three artists at the same time: Maxwell Alexandre (Brazil), Conny Maier (Germany), and Zhang Xu Zhan (Taiwan). What all three have in common is that they came to contemporary art via unusual paths and bring very specific life experiences and cultural influences with them.
Maxwell Alexandre was born in 1990 in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela, where he still lives today. The paintings and installations of the artist of African descent revolve around community and violence, hip-hop and spirituality. His 17-part work Forbes Under 30 from the 500 Year Party series explores Brazilian media imagery. Alexandre repeatedly repainted the 2019 cover motif of the Brazilian edition...of Forbes magazine, which ranked him as one of the 90 most successful Brazilians under 30, changing the shades of the protagonists’ skin colors—a serial meditation on systemic racism, the Brazilian elite, and class.
Entrada actualizada el el 13 nov de 2021
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