A year ago Tim B. Wride was appointed the William & Sarah Ross Soter Curator of Photography at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. He has done 6 exhibitions already with the highlight being the announcement of the biennial $20,000 Rudin Prize, recognizing work of emerging artists who have not yet had a solo museum show. The Rudin Prize and accompanying debut exhibition closed today.
Wride asked five contemporary artists to nominate talent that did not have wide exposure or had never had institutional show. The highly diversified and international roster includes Eunice Adorno, based in Mexico City, nominated by Susan Meiselas; Maura D’Agato, based in Palermo, nominated by Michal Rovner; Analia Saban, Argentinian based in Los Angeles, nominated by John Baldessari; Nia Solis, based in Mexico City, nominated by Graciela Iturbide; and Bjorn Vene, Nowegian based in London, nominated by Yinka Shonibare.
These are strong, thoughtful choices in a good looking exhibition. The lightly transgressive standouts are the unique works about process and seeing by Saban, who won, and the video/sound/sculpture/photo installation work about gender and role playing by Vene.
This has the makings of a very important prize, which Wride engineered with the particular support of collector and curator Beth Rudin DeWoody. The prize is named for her late father, Lewis Rudin.
W.M. Hunt
