Sarah Sze has been named the first recipient of the Meraki Artist Award by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (ICA Boston). This new $100,000 prize recognizes women artists who have made notable contributions to contemporary art. Sze will accept the award at the museum’s annual Women’s Luncheon on May 5th.
The Meraki Artist Award is funded by art collector Fotene Demoulas from the family that operates the supermarket chain Market Basket. Demoulas has pledged to fund the award for the next decade.
“In Greek, the word meraki means to pour your soul into something, and I can think of no better way to describe Fotene’s longstanding support of artists and the ICA,” said ICA Boston director Jill Medvedow. “The generosity of this award is echoed in the open spirit and artistic expansiveness of Sarah’s work. We are thrilled to recognize Sarah as the inaugural recipient of the Meraki Artist Award and to celebrate her important contributions to art and culture.”
Sze’s practice bridges the gaps between painting, sculpture, video, and installation, often integrating both digital and physical elements. She is perhaps best known for her kinetic installations and multimedia sculptures that explore themes of interconnectedness and entropy. For instance, her recent solo show at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas featured Love Song (2024), where a sculpture of a tree contains a rotating projector displaying images on the gallery walls.
Born in Boston in 1969, Sze received a BA from Yale University in 1991 and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1997. Her innovative approach to sculpture became evident during her graduate studies, notably with a project at MoMA PS1 that radically altered the building’s architecture. By 2003, Sze was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Sze represented the United States at the 2013 Venice Biennale. Her work has been exhibited in major solo exhibitions around the world, at venues such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Fondation Cartier in Paris. On March 25th, Gagosian will present Sze’s first solo show in Hong Kong, coinciding with Art Basel Hong Kong.
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