Jeroen Eisinga wins Ouborg Award 2019

Location: Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41, The Hague
Date: Friday 22 November 2019, 18:00 hrs, presentation by Saskia Bruines, alderman for culture

‘Extremely precise, varied and penetrating work of high quality. Work that does not let you go easily.’

- The Ouborg Prize Jury on Jeroen Eisinga

On Friday 22 November next, visual artist Jeroen Eisinga will be honoured with the 2019 Ouborg Award for his large and rich body of work. The official presentation of the prize will be accompanied by the opening of the exhibition Jeroen Eisinga - The social ladder, 23 November to 22 March 2020 at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, and the appearance of the book of the same name (in Dutch), published by Stroom Den Haag.

Artist Jeroen Eisinga (1966) is ambitious, not easily satisfied and always looking for boundaries. For his now iconic film Springtime (2011), for instance, he had himself covered by a swarm of some 150,000 bees. His productions are all very labour-intensive. Reason why Eisinga's oeuvre may not be large, but impressive. His films have been shown at international festivals and art venues as well as included in various museum and private collections.

Publication
Part of the award is the Dutch-language publication De maatschappelijke ladder, published by Stroom Den Haag. ‘It has become a sparkling book full of ideas and discoveries,’ says Eisinga. ‘Sketches, ideas, thoughts, reflections on content, the set-up for projects, the completion of projects, failed projects and work never before shown. I combined this with texts that should not be seen as an explanation of the visual work, but as underlying thoughts, investigations and as independent and self-contained.’

Exhibition
For the exhibition Jeroen Eisinga - The social ladder at Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Eisinga combines five films from the 1990s: 40-44-PG (1993), Grauzone (1995), The most important moment of my life (1995), Night Porter (1993) and The social ladder (1996 - 2019). The latter film, from which both the exhibition and the publication also derive their titles, had not previously been shown in public. Besides these five films, visitors will also get a glimpse into the research and preparations that are part of the making process. Sketchbooks from 25 years of preliminary research are on display in showcases. In some cases, they are works of art in themselves, linked to one of the films.

Ouborg Award
The Ouborg Award is The Hague's city prize for visual art, named after the Hague artist Pieter Ouborg (1893-1956). With the Ouborg Award, The Hague shows its pride and appreciation for the level, merit, quality and supra-local significance of the nominees and the extent to which they contribute to the city's art climate and its (international) reputation. The prize is awarded a maximum of once every two years and at least once every four years.

Previous allocations: Christie van der Haak (2015), Marcel van Eeden (2013), André Kruysen (2011), Justin Bennett (2009), Zeger Reyers (2007), Ben van Os (2005), Hans van der Pennen (2003), Vojta Dukàt (2001), Philip Akkerman (1999), Auke de Vries (1997), Martin Rous (1996), Dick Raaijmakers (1995), Tomas Rajlich (1994), Lotti van der Gaag (1993), Gerard Fieret (1992), Wil Bouthoorn (1991), Frans Zwartjes (1990).