Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson Awarded 2015 Biennial Grant from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation

For Immediate Release

TIFFANY FOUNDATION 2015 BIENNIAL GRANTS

New York, NY (June, 2016) ̶ 

The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of $600,000 in awards to American contemporary artists. Established in 1918, the Foundation remains one of the largest single sources of unrestricted monetary awards to artists. Since 1980, the biennial competition has granted $9,134,000 in awards to 471 artists nationwide. The Foundation’s biennial competition represents its continued mission to honor its founder, Louis Comfort Tiffany, who intended “to help young artists of our country…and to assist them in establishing themselves in the art world.” The president of the Foundation, Angela Westwater, commented, “Our Trustees remain committed to supporting excellence in contemporary art, and in so doing commemorate our founder, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and his artistic legacy.” Thirty unrestricted grants of $20,000 each have been awarded to artists working in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, craft, and new media. Recipients were chosen from a pool of 173 nominees proposed by a group of national nominators composed of artists, critics, as well as museum professionals and Foundation trustees. A seven-member jury reviewed the submissions and selected winners for their talent and individual artistic strength. The Foundation is designed to support dedicated artists whose work shows promise of further development. The purpose of the monetary grant is to give artists the opportunity to produce new work, to push the boundaries of their creativity. The Foundation encourages artist awardees to use the funding without restriction, thereby reinforcing the notion of artistic freedom.

Artist, award winner, and Foundation Trustee Kerry James Marshall said of the grant program: “Few events are more exciting and encouraging than being nominated to compete for prizes you can't apply for. It is the kind of endorsement that gets the wind at your back, and since my 1993 Tiffany grant, it's been full speed ahead. It has also been an honor to join the Tiffany board and serve with famous artists I used to only read about. I was so fortunate to be an awardee. We are so lucky there is the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.”

In May 2016, the Foundation published a full-color 76-page catalogue documenting the work of grant recipients with images and biographies. Soon, this catalogue will also be made available on the Foundation’s website. The awards are funded exclusively by the Foundation’s endowment. The Foundation is directed by a board consisting of Angela Westwater (President), Robert Meltzer (Vice President), Peter F. Frey (Treasurer), Vaughn C. Williams (Secretary), William Bailey, Phong Bui, Chuck Close, Lyle Ashton Harris, Gerhardt Knodel, Charles LeDray, Kerry James Marshall, Scott Rothkopf, Robert F. Shapiro, Cindy Sherman, Lowery Stokes Sims, Paul J. Smith, and Robert Storr. 

2015 Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award Recipients: 

Yuji Agematsu, New York, NY 

Chris Bogia, Queens, NY 

Jared Buckhiester, New York, NY 

Mary Carlson, Brooklyn and Walton, NY 

Domingo Castillo, Miami, FL 

Ian Cheng, New York, NY 

Derrick Alexis Coard, Bronx, NY 

Victor Estrada, Los Angeles, CA 

Zachary Fabri, Brooklyn, NY 

Vanessa German, Pittsburgh, PA 

Aaron Gilbert, Brooklyn, NY 

Rochelle Goldberg, New York, NY, 

Tommy Hartung, Queens, NY 

Iman Issa, New York, NY 

Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, Cleveland, OH 

Kelly Kaczynski, Chicago, IL 

James English Leary, New York, NY 

Pam Lins, Brooklyn, NY 

Park McArthur, New York, NY 

Willa Nasatir, New York, NY 

Mendi and Keith Obadike, Montclair, NJ 

Andy Paiko, Portland, OR 

Alison Pebworth, San Francisco, CA 

Gala Porras-Kim, Los Angeles, CA 

Miljohn Ruperto, Los Angeles, CA 

Adam Shirley, Detroit, MI 

Xaviera Simmons, New York, NY 

Avery Singer, New York, NY 

A.L. Steiner, Los Angeles, CA 

Stewart Uoo, Brooklyn, NY

2015 Biennial Competition Jury:
Lyle Ashton Harris, artist, and Associate Professor of New York University
Charles LeDray, artist
Aram Moshayedi, Curator, Hammer Museum
Scott Rothkopf, Chief Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art
Shannon Stratton, Chief Curator, Museum of Arts and Design, New York
Cindy Sherman, artist
Robert Storr, artist, critic, and Dean of the Yale University School of Art

Established in 1918, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation remains one of the largest single sources of unrestricted monetary awards to artists. The Foundation originally operated Laurelton Hall—Tiffany’s estate at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island—as a summer residency for its

fellows and craftspeople. Today the competition continues its mission to honor its founder, Louis Comfort Tiffany, by supporting artists and their development through direct financial support. Every two years, designated nominators from throughout the United States recommend candidates to be considered for a grant from the Foundation. The nominees are reviewed by a jury composed of artists, critics, museum professionals, and representation from the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Awardees are selected for their talent and individual artistic strength. It is the intention of the Foundation to support dedicated artists whose work shows promise of further development. The purpose of the monetary grant is to give artists the opportunity to produce new work, to push the boundaries of their creativity. The results of the competition are documented in an extensive catalogue illustrating the work of the award winners, as well as biographic and bibliographic information. The catalogue is broadly circulated to libraries and other arts organizations and institutions. The Tiffany Foundation's Biennial Competition is administered by the American Federation of Arts.