MELIK OHANIAN WINS THE 2015 MARCEL DUCHAMP PRIZE

By Crash redaction

Above: Melik Ohanian, Portrait of Duration, 2015,
Seven photographs, light boxes with one second per minute animation, Dimensions: 105x90x10cm each
© Melik Ohanian, Exhibition prix Marcel Duchamp, Fiac, Courtesy Galerie Chanel Crousel, Paris – Photo: Cédric Eymenier/ADIAF

AN EXPLORATION OF TIME WITH MELIK OHANIAN

The announcement was made on Saturday: Melik Ohanian is the laureate of the 2015 Marcel Duchamp Prize. Organized from October 21st to 25th at Paris’ FIAC, the much-awaited competition gathered installations by four contemporary artists: Davide Belula, Neïl Beloufa, Zineb Sedira, and Melik Ohanian. Commissioned for the occasion, the four finalists created pieces that were displayed in a dedicated room in Paris’ Grand Palais. On Friday, October 23rd, an international jury gathered to pick a winner, which led to the decision to award Melik Ohanian. Born in Lyon in 1969, the artist is no beginner in the contemporary art scene and is represented by the prestigious Chantal Crousel gallery in Paris. Sharing his time between Paris and New York, Ohanian has long been interested in the image culture, creating over the years a new cinematographic vocabulary that looks beyond the already existing filming techniques and preconceptions. For the Marcel Duchamp Prize, Ohanian presented Portrait of Duration, a line of seven photographs mounted on light panels, animated for one second every minute, inviting the public to reflect on their representation of duration and time in itself.

Following this win, the National Museum of modern art will dedicate a solo exhibition to Melik Ohanian at Paris’ Centre Pompidou from June 1st to August 29th, 2016. In addition, the artist will receive a € 35,000 dotation from ADIAF (Association pour la diffusion internationale de l’art français), which will contribute to the project. It is not the first time that the 46 year-old artist is gets recognition for his work. Awarded at the last Venice Biennal along with the Armenian pavilion, Ohanian counts among his celebrated works two video installations, Seven Minutes Before (2004) and DAYS, I See what I Saw and what I will See (2011), where he explores the possibilities of traveling as a filming technique.

Discover Portrait of Duration below as well as Melik Ohanian’s work on the Chantal Crousel gallery website

Melik Ohanian, Portrait of Duration, 2015, Seven photographs, light boxes with one second per minute animation, Dimensions: 105x90x10cm each © Melik Ohanian, Exhibition prix Marcel Duchamp, Fiac, Courtesy Galerie Chanel Crousel, Paris – Photo: Florian Kleinefenn

Melik Ohanian, Portrait of Duration, 2015, Seven photographs, light boxes with one second per minute animation, Dimensions: 105x90x10cm each © Melik Ohanian, Exhibition prix Marcel Duchamp, Fiac, Courtesy Galerie Chanel Crousel, Paris – Photo: Cédric Eymenier/ADIAF

Melik Ohanian