Andrea Grützner wins the ING Unseen Talent Award and €10,000

German photographer Andrea Grützner, who was born in 1984, has won the ING Unseen Talent Award with her series Hive. She now wins €10,000 to develop a new project and, along with the other shortlisted photographers, the opportunity to develop her work under the guidance of Nadav Kander, the UK-based photographer best-known for his huge commission for The New York Times Magazine, Obama’s People.
Grützner’s work was picked out by an international jury made up of: Maryam Eisler photographer, Trustee of Whitechapel, co-chair of Tate’s MENAAC and Unseen Ambassador; Francis Hodgson, pofessor in Culture of Photography University of Brighton, founder Prix Pictet and former head of photographs Department Sotheby’s; Dana Lixenberg, photographer; Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, professor exhibition studies and spatiality, University of Arts Helsinki; and Darius Sanai, editor in chief, Condé Nast International.
The public prize, which brings with it a commission to make new work for the ING collection went to French photographer Robin Lopvet, who was born in 1990. The other shortlisted photographers were: Tom Callemin (1991, Belgium); Alexandra Lethbridge (1987, United Kingdom); and Stefanie Moshammer (1988, Austria). Each of the finalists created an artwork for the ING Collection in response to this year’s theme: Common Ground, and their work was displayed at Unseen Amsterdam this weekend.

“Once again, we discovered that photographic artists are capable of tackling our society’s pressing concerns,” stated the jury in its report. “This year’s submissions touched on global issues including gender, consumerism, cultural diversity and communication. The artists proved that the medium of photography can convey a range of perspectives surrounding the theme of Common Ground.
“After consideration we have chosen Andrea Grützner, who is clear in her approach to “common ground” and how we collectively experience shared space, inviting viewers to evaluate how they picture it. She plays with colours in her work, grounded in elements of surrealism. The resulting work is compelling to the jury, and has been selected based on its imaginative substance.”
The ING Unseen Talent Award was set up by ING and Unseen in 2013, and aims to pick out emerging international talent. Previous winners include Thomas Albdorf and Miren Pastor (2016), Sophie Jung and Lara Gasparotto (2015), Anne Geene and Maurice van Es (2014) and Ola Lanko (2013).

Grützner has a BA in Communication design from HTWG Constant and an MA in Photography from FH Bielefeld. Her work has already been published in Geo Magazine, The New York Times and Collectors Agenda, and she was selected as one of the FOAM Talents in 2016. Lopvet attended de l’École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, and a post-graduate diploma from the International Center of Photography in New York. His work has previously appeared in Der Greif, Capsule Magazine, and OffTheWallPhotoBook.
Unseen is a platform for emerging photography, which runs all year round online and offline, but which is best-known for its annual festival and photo fair, Unseen Amsterdam. ING is a global financial institution, which offers banking services via its operating company ING Bank.
www.unseenamsterdam.com Read this story on the finalists to see some of the work that won them their nominations https://www.1854.photography/2017/06/awards-five-finalists-for-the-ing-unseen-talent-award-2017/