Prix de Rome – Foundations

Honorary Competition

The Prix de Rome is the oldest and most prestigious award in the Netherlands for visual artists under the age of 40 and architects under the age of 35. The award dates back to 1808 when Louis Napoleon introduced the Prix de Rome in the Netherlands to promote the arts. Although the award adopted various guises over the years, the aim has always been to trace talented artists and promote their further development and visibility.

Since January 2013, the organisation and funding of the award is handled by the Mondriaan Fund. The Fund does so with due respect for the Prix de Rome’s long history and with the express wish to guarantee its status as an independent award.

Exploitation Landscapes

Exploitation Landscapes is an investigation into the constantly changing relationship between man and nature. Plaster cast reliefs explore this apparent dichotomy through traces found in the ENCI quarry in Maastricht. The reliefs show traces of geological, industrial and ecological processes that have inspired a century of public debate.

To produce the serie a mix of analogue and digital fabrication techniques were combined: CNC-milled base reliefs were made from pointcloud scans and satellite data while other traces where taken in situ with silicone. After its first exposition in Bureau Europa in 2016, a second exposition was held in 2017 in the Dominican church in Maastricht.