Found in the Field - Artistic Practices from 25 years of the Marcel Duchamp Prize

A new exhibition at the Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art aims to provide an insight into the recent history of contemporary French art through the eyes of the winners and nominees of the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025. The Centre Pompidou in Paris, a prominent French contemporary art institution, has been a partner of the privately launched prize since its inception, which has played a major role in promoting French contemporary art and the international careers of the nominated artists, and has grown over the years to become one of the most professionally recognised national art prizes at global level.

The jury selects artists who were born in France or live in France and who define the French scene as a place of artistic fulfilment. Recent years have only reinforced the concept behind the prize, which aims to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the diverse French scene by selecting the most innovative artists. Within the framework of the exhibition, the curators immerse themselves in the past of the prize, which has followed the changes, focus and evolution of the contemporary French scene, thus contributing to a fuller understanding of its complexity, while at the same time highlighting artistic practices and dynamics that, while strengthening the French scene, can also offer a relevant approach in the Central and Eastern European region, in our case Hungary. In this way, art is brought to the fore as an active agent in the process of engagement and as a platform for reinterpretation, negotiation and inclusive participation. The exhibition in Budapest presents works by eighteen artists in a variety of media, reflecting the rich and varied range of approaches that have emerged under the auspices of the Duchamp Prize over this quarter of a century.