We are delighted to present this year’s shortlisted candidates and winner of the C/O Berlin Talent Award 2019.

The only prize of its kind in Europe, the C/O Berlin Talent Award recognizes the exceptional work of young photographers and art critics. The 2019 prize has been awarded to Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques, who was also nominated and shortlisted for the 2018 award. Couzinet-Jacques’ outstanding signature style and sustained development are once again on display in his most recent work, Sub Rosa (2018), whose contemporary vision, documentary-like visual language, and intelligent combination of photography, video, and sound installations fully convinced the jury. “Sub Rosa” will be shown for the first time as part of a solo exhibition at C/O Berlin. A bespoke publication will appear on the occasion of the exhibition. The C/O Berlin Talent Award is the only prize of its kind in Europe which showcases emerging photographers and art critics under 35, accompanying them on their creative journey and offering a starting point for international exhibitions. The expert jury nominates the candidates for the selection process. As well as choosing the prizewinners in the categories of photography and art criticism, four participants will be shortlisted. These shortlisted candidates are presented in this article.

The shortlist was selected by an expert panel, comprising Ann-Christin Bertrand (curator, C/O Berlin Foundation), Milena Carstens (head photography editor, ZEITmagazin), Joachim Naudts (curator, Fotomuseum Antwerpen), Stefanie Moshammer (2018 winner of the C/O Berlin Talent Award), and Thomas Seelig (curator, photography collection of Museum Folkwang, Essen). This year, four further artists—Axel Braun, Jan Hoek, Camille Levêque, and Luo Yang—were shortlisted.

Winner

Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques (b. 1983, Sens, France) lives and works in Paris. He studied at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Marseille, graduating in 2010, and the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, graduating in 2012. His works have been exhibited at Le BAL in Paris, Fotofestival Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen and Aperture Foundation in New York. In 2015, Couzinet- Jaques held a fellowship at the Centre Photographique d’Ile-de-France in Paris, and from 2014–2016 he was artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts program in Paris. In 2015, he was awarded the first Immersion Award by Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and Aperture Foundation. His first book, Eden (2006), was produced in collaboration with Fred Cave and published by Aperture. From 2017 to 2018, Couzinet-Jacques held a fellowship at the French Academy Casa de Velàzquez in Madrid. Most recently, he was selected as a 2019 Foam Talent by the Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

Shortlist

Axel Braun (b. 1983, Düsseldorf, Germany) studied communication design with a concentration in photography at Folkwang University of Arts in Essen, and fine art at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. His work has featured in several solo and group exhibitions at various institutions, among them Hartware MedienKunstVerein at Dortmunder U, Kunstmuseum Bochum, Kunsthaus NRW Kornelimünster, Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives in Budapest, and tranzit. sk in Bratislava. Braun has received numerous prizes and scholarships from institutions including the German Academic Scholarship Foundation, the DAAD, the award for artists from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as awards from the Central European University’s Institute for Advanced Studies and the Kunststiftung NRW, as well as the Stiftung Kunstfond’s work grant.

Camille Lévêque (b. 1985 in Paris, France) is a visual artist, photographer, graphic designer, and publisher. Lévêque’s work spans the genres of photography, video, collage, and installation. Prior to focusing on her artistic career, she worked as a reporter for the UNHCR in Armenia and as an editorial assistant for Magnum Photos in Paris. Lévêque has been nominated for and won various awards, among them the Prix Maison Blanche, Voies Off Arles, Cosmos PDF Award, the PHmuseum Photography Grant, and the Lucie Scholarship. Her works have been exhibited at established institutions such as MACRO, Aperture Foundation, Unseen Festival, and Le Centquatre, and have also been published in Le Monde, Libération, Foam Magazine, Dazed, and Internazionale. Lévêque founded and is active in the collective Live Wild, and also co-founded the publishing house Orpheus Standing Alone. She lives and works in Paris.

Jan Hoek (b. 1984, Utrecht, Netherlands) is a photographer. He studied image and speech at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, graduating in 2012. In his work, Hoek often focuses on minority groups in African society, such as homeless people, drug addicts, and people who advertise on online marketplaces to do odd jobs or to work as amateur models. Critical yet humorous, his photographs thematize aspects of colonial history, as well as contemporary discourses on gender, consumption, and capitalism. They have been exhibited worldwide in Antwerp, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Jakarta, Shenzhen, Lagos, Miami, London, and New York. Hoek has also held solo exhibitions in Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam’s Foam 3h project space, Felix & Foam, and He Xianging Art Museum in Shenzhen. His photographs have since been published in Foam Magazine, Vice, Mister Motley, GUP, New York Times and King Kong Magazine.

Luo Yang (b. 1984, Shenyang, China) is an artist and photographer. She studied graphic design at the LuXun Academy of Fine Arts in China, graduating in 2006, and is considered one of the most important artists of her generation thanks to her documentary photography. In 2013, her work was shown at the exhibition FUCK OFF 2 at Groniger Museum, curated by Ai Weiwei. Luo’s works have also been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at numerous other museums, project spaces, festivals, and biennials spanning Mumbai to Berlin. The artist lives and works in Beijing and Shanghai.

C/O Berlin Talent Award

Winner & Shortlist

Artists:  Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques: Winner

Shortlist: Axel Braun, Jan Hoek, Camille Lévêque, Luo Yang

Exhibition 07 Dec 2019–29th Feb 2020; OPENING on December 6th!

Opening Hours daily. 11:00 a.m.–08:00 p.m.

Admission 10 euros / reduced 6 euros

Amerika Haus. Hardenbergstrasse 22–24

10623 Berlin

Tel +49.30.284 44 16-0