Krijn de Koning bij de uitvoering van zijn werk in het CBK te Rotterdam.
uitvoering: Segno d'Arte
PRESS RELEASE 11-2007
SIKKENS PRIZE 2007 AWARDED TO KRIJN DE KONING
The Sikkens Prize 2007 has been awarded to the Dutch artist Krijn de Koning for
his distinct interventions in existing spaces, whereby color plays a specific
role.
Wherever color manifests itself in a characteristic and original manner, Sikkens
Foundation tries to stimulate developments by awarding the Sikkens Prize. The
first Sikkens Prize was awarded in 1959 to Gerrit Rietveld, followed by, among
others, Le Corbusier, Theo van Doesburg and Donald Judd, all of whom carried out
pioneering work in the field of color application.
The award of the Sikkens Prize 2007 to the Dutch artist Krijn de Koning (b.
1963) fits completely within this tradition. Since the early 1990s De Koning has
carried out around a hundred ‘site-specific’ works of art in the Netherlands and
other countries. His architectural interventions consist of walls, floors, a
complete construction or simply of color. ‘A large red area is a large red area.
But seeing it is something very physical - your eyes perceive it but it also
touches your heart.’ Using color and form, as well as feeling and atmosphere, he
evokes a sensual experience of space that raises in a unique way the issue of
interaction between the public and the built environment.
The Sikkens Prize 2007 will be presented in Rotterdam on the 1st of December
2007. The presentation will be preceded by the Piet Mondrian Lecture, for which
this time the London organisation Artangel has been invited. Since the 1990s,
Artangel has organised a series of internationally celebrated projects with
artists such as Matthew Barney and Rachel Whiteread. Beyond the white walls of
the museum, there are other forms of expression where the relationship between
artist, place and public is of primary importance, and it is these forms that
Artangel actively explores. ‘Above all, we endeavour to respect the singular
chemistry of the commissioning process so that artists, art forms and audiences
can together explore new and uncharted territory.’ According to the Sikkens
Foundation, Artangel makes a contribution to the cultural meaning of color,
thereby taking a further step on the path marked out by Rem Koolhaas, Simon
Schama and Umberto Eco
