The winner of the main prize was selected by an independent jury comprising figures from the same field: Tobia Bezzola, Vanessa Billy and Beat Zoderer.
The jury explained its choice as follows:
The jury selected Klaudia Schifferle for this year’s award. She is an artist whose multifaceted body of work has played a decisive role in shaping the Swiss art and cultural landscape for decades. As a painter, draughtswoman, sculptor and musician, Klaudia Schifferle has created an independent, unmistakable body of work that impresses with its uncompromising authenticity.
In her visual art, Schifferle develops a powerful, expressive visual language that draws on her inner world whilst simultaneously reflecting contemporary social sensibilities. Her paintings, drawings and sculptural works are imbued with energy, vulnerability and contradiction. Alongside her visual art, Klaudia Schifferle has also achieved cult status as a member of the legendary all-female punk band Kleenex/LiLiPUT. Her musical career as a pioneer of the alternative music scene of the 1970s and 80s also exemplifies an attitude that regards no rule of art as sacrosanct and champions spontaneous expression and artistic freedom.
By awarding the prize to Klaudia Schifferle, the jury not only honours an impressive body of work but also sends a clear message about the importance of artistic originality and interdisciplinary creativity. Her work moves effortlessly between art forms, styles and schools, and is a prime example of a free, courageous and unconventional artistic existence.
It fell to the recipient of the main prize to select the winner of the encouragement prize. Klaudia Schifferle chose Sveta Mordovskaya. She is a younger artist who has been living and working in Zurich for some time. Klaudia Schifferle: “I have come across Sveta Mordovskaya’s works time and again over the last few years and find her work exciting, poetic and wonderful.”