Morgan Courtois wins the 10th edition of the Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art

The Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art was created ten years ago! Under the impetus of Franka Holtmann, General Director of the Meurice, and with the support of the members of the Jury, the prize has over the years become one of the most awaited events on the contemporary art scene. It must be said that the hotel, which is part of the Dorchester Collection, has always welcomed the greatest artists of their time since its creation in 1835. Let us quote Dalì, Cocteau, Apollinaire, Warhol… Founded with the will to put forward and accompany young French artists for a project of international scope, the Prize has revealed talents like Neïl Beloufa or Lola Gonzàlez, winner of the 2016/2017 edition. This year, she was again present at the ceremony, this time as a member of the Jury. To mark the occasion, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, patron of the Prize, imagined a logo-embleme as a coat of arms that he likes to describe as a “harpooner of stars” – a reference to the mission granted each year to the members of the jury. In the sumptuous lounges of the Hotel Le Meurice, a large number of personalities from the artistic and film scene gathered, notably Eva Ionesco and her son Lukas, the exhibition curator Jérôme Neutres or the guest of honour of this edition, art critic Hans-Ulrich Obrist, co-exhibition director and director of international projects at the Serpentine Gallery in London. The occasion for the guests to discover “Les temps suspendus”, the exhibition of the six finalists Morgan Courtois, Cédric Fargues, Kapwani Kiwanga, Théo Mercier, Eva Nielsen and Mel O’Callaghan. At the end of the evening, the Prize was awarded to the young Morgan Courtois represented by the Balice Hertling gallery. A few days before the FIAC and its tumult, a great moment of art.