The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas has announced Senga Nengudi as the winner of the 2023 Nasher Prize.
The international prize for sculpture was established to award a living artist who ‘elevates the understanding of sculpture and its possibilities’. Nengudi is best known for her sculpture and performance works, as well as her part in the Studio Z collective of 1970s Los Angeles and connection to the history of Just Above Midtown Gallery (JAM) in new York. She was also the subject of Topographies (2021), a recent survey at Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Nasher Sculpture Center describe in their announcement the artists work as that which speaks to the ‘fragility and resilience of the human body, individual agency, and the importance of collaboration and friendship. Her practice has come to encompass poetic, enigmatic objects and installations alongside performances, films, and photography.’
Nengudi is the prize’s seventh recipient. Previous winners include Nairy Baghrahaim (2022), Michael Rakowitz (2020-21), Isa Genzken (2019), Theaster Gates (2018), Pierre Huyghe (2017) and Doris Salcedo (2016).
Nengudi will be receive $100,000 and an award designed by Renzo Piano, the Nasher Sculpture Center building’s architect, at a ceremony in Dallas on 1 April, 2023. Nengudi will also be the subject of a major exhibition at Dia Beacon, New York, opening 17 February, 2023.
