Debora Antmann, Miriam Cahn, Carolin Emcke, Tamara Loewenstein, Hanno Loewy, Steffen Mues

Begründung der Jury

★★
Switzerland /// Schweiz
★★

The Basel-born artist Miriam Cahn was awarded the 14th Rubens Prize of the City of Siegen in June 2022. An honour that is combined with a solo exhibition at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen and a publication.

An exhibition turns into a book. 14 exhibition spaces – especially conceived for the artist’s purpose – unfolding over 14 chapters.

A yellow type line on the cover leads into the exhibition space, into the world of Miriam Cahn's painterly œuvre of immense expressive power. In the publication’s interior, the text band changes to black. It is continued in the same type hierarchy in the captions. The title of the picture and the period of origin – type-wise – are equivalent. Even the captions remain equally weighted to the running texts of the exhibition catalogue. Cahn's pictorial worlds thus remain at the centre of action. The text flow is occasionally interrupted by variations in form. Bodies of text that break apart, like the inner turmoil the artist is able to express in her paintings. Themes of womanhood, being Jewish, gender, love, sexuality, violence, war and flight.

In addition to the almost physically comprehensible spaces you enter as you further explore the book, Lukas Wassmann's grandiose picture essay brings a lively additional level to the art volume.

Those who could not enter the exhibition rooms should enter the publication.