Royal Palace Amsterdam
15 July – 3 Oktober 2021
The incentives prize for young painters instituted by King Willem III, 150 years ago, is now one of the oldest awards for artists in the Netherlands. The Royal Award for Modern Painting invites painters under 35 years of age to submit their work to be judged and recognised.
We are celebrating the 150th anniversary with a special exhibition in the galleries and rooms of the palace. Trailblazers celebrates the bold imagination of participants from the rich history of the Royal Award. The exhibition was opened by HM the King and HRH Princess Beatrix on 14 July 2021.
Guest curators Mirjam Westen and Richard Kofi invited seventeen former participants in the Award (1980–2020) to exhibit their work. They are trailblazers, who interrogate, stretch, disrupt and reconstruct the boundaries of painting. Each one approaches form, material, imagination and subject matter in his or her own innovative way. They exemplify the way in which the Award encourages artists to find their own style.