October 9, 2013updated 08 Jan 2016 5:22pm

Winner of sixth Meurice Prize for Contemporary Art announced

The sixth Meurice Prize for contemporary art has been awarded to Neïl Beloufa, represented by the Galerie Balice Hertling.
True to its heritage and its enthusiasm for the art of its times, and for the sixth consecutive year, the first Parisian palace hotel (1835) has awarded a prize to help an emerging artist on the French scene to gain international exposure. The prize, which has an endowment of €20,000, was jointly awarded on October 7th to Neïl Beloufa for his project “Les arabes et les services” and to the Galerie Balice Hertling.
Judges have chosen Neïl Beloufa amongst the 50 outstanding projects that were submitted for the prize. This year’s jury comprises prestigious members of the art scene including Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Ambassador for the award, Montse Aguer, Director of the Centre for Dalinian Studies, Alexandre Singh, Artist and Winner of the award in 2012/2013, Colette Barbier, Director of Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, Philippe Dagen, Writer and Professor at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Jennifer Flay, FIAC Director, Marta Gili, Director of Jeu de Paume, Henri Loyrette, Conseiller d’Etat, Maryvonne Pinault, Collector, Jean de Loisy, President of the Palais de Tokyo, Nicolas Bourriaud, Director of l’Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris and Franka Holtmann, General Manager of Le Meurice.

Read a review of Le Meurice here
Neïl Beloufa was born in 1985. He lives and works in Paris. His practice considers dichotomies – reality and fiction, cause and effect, presence and absence – through media such as sculpture, video, installation and photography. By combining these dichotomies he is able to deconstruct our belief systems and preconceived ideas, presenting fiction as reality, and vice versa.

The artist’s project, “Les arabes et les services” is an installation and exhibition project based on representations of information systems and the mass media’s desire for information. A “film set” will be built in the gallery, inspired by the architecture in ‘The Tourist’; using webcams, visitors will be able to view the exhibition through the intermediary of screens.

The exhibition will be shifted into another space where an “employee” will present it as visitors pass through. This exhibition will take the form of two videos: in one, American tourists in an Arab country will be pursued using “espionage” techniques, passing them off as spies. In the second, La Domination du Monde, civilians debate and resolve political disputes, taking on the role of politicians in a time of crisis.
It will be exhibited in 2014 at the Film Center Building in New York.
Guests have had the opportunity to preview the exhibition of the six finalists’ work. This exhibition is open to the public from 8 to 27 October 2013 at the Castiglione gallery of Hôtel Le Meurice, entry via 6, rue Castiglione, from 10am to 7pm.