The Armory Show in New York has designated the winners of three prizes: the Pommery Prize, the Presents Prize, and the inaugural Aware Prize, all conferred at the fair’s 2020 edition continuing at Piers 90 and 94 on Manhattan’s West Side through March 8.
Night Gallery (of Los Angeles) received the $20,000 Pommery Prize for its presentation of artist Christine Wang’s new series of paintings titled “Meme Girl” (2020). Now in its second year, the Pommery Prize recognizes large-scale works shown in the fair’s “Platform” section, which was curated this year by Anne Ellegood, the executive director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
The $10,000 Presents Prize, which celebrates an “innovative” presentation in the exhibition’s “Presents” section for first-time exhibitors, went to Upfor (Portland, Oregon) for its solo show of new work by artist Julie Green. Jurors for the prize included Naomi Baigell, managing director of Athena Art Finance; Tina Perry, collector and president of the Oprah Winfrey Network; Bernard Lumpkin, collector and philanthropist; and Eric Shiner, executive director of Pioneer Works in Brooklyn.
Additionally, the inaugural edition of the $10,000 Aware Prize for solo presentations by women artists—presented by the Paris-based nonprofit AWARE (Archives of Women Artists, Research, and Exhibitions) in partnership with the Armory Show—was given to June Edmonds, whose work at the fair is presented by the Luis De Jesus Los Angeles gallery. Edmonds is known for abstract paintings that explore race, gender, and politics, and the prize had a jury that included AWARE co-founder Camille Morineau, writer and curatorial activist Maura Reilly, and Swiss Institute director Simon Castets, among others.