The Škoda Prize is an initiative to appreciate contemporary art which is hidden in different corners of India. In the first year itself, The Škoda Prize got a huge response from everyone - from the artists in the form of participation and from art lovers as the audience to this art. The 1st prize is of Rs 10,00,000, whereas 2 runner’s Up prizes are a 4-week residency in Switzerland, courtesy Pro Helvetia, The Swiss Arts Council.The Top Twenty 2011 catalog would include the best of Indian contemporary art in 2010-2011 and try to act as a leveler wherein artists who are yet to be recognized will share space with India's highly celebrated artists. New Delhi based Mithu Sen had bagged the prize for the last year. Balasubramaniam Alwar and Kiran Subbaiah were the other shortlisted artists.
"The Longlist thus year comprises of 20 contemporary Indian artists at various points of success in their career as well as working in a wide variety of media," the organizers stated in a statement. There were more than of 125 entries for The Škoda Prize from across India.
Among the nominees, as you experience artist Prashant Pandey’s work, keep in mind the words of John Baldessari who once famously said, “Look at the subject as if you have never seen it before. Examine it from every side. Draw its outline with your hands and saturate yourself with it.” His 'Shelf-Life' was shown at Gallery Maskara in Mumbai, in August and September 2010.
Through his use of recycled, reclaimed and found material like abandoned industrial containers, cigarette butts, cane trash, urine and blood as well as the distortion of form slows down the act of perception between the audience and the object, his work serves the poetic function of promoting seeing as opposed to recognizing something that is already familiar and known.
(Information courtesy: The ŠkodaArt)
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