Sung Tieu (*1987, Hải Dương, Vietnam) is a Berlin-based German-Vietnamese artist. She studied at Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg and Goldsmiths College, London, before completing her postgraduate program at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. She has received numerous awards, including the ars viva Prize 2021, Frieze Artist Award 2021, and the audience award of the Preis der Nationalgalerie in 2021. In 2024, she will be awarded the 9th Rubens Promotional Award of the City of Siegen. Solo exhibitions include Monash University Museum of Art (MUMA), Melbourne, AU; Oakville Galleries, CA (both 2024); Kunst Museum Winterthur, CH; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, US; Amant, New York, US; Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (all 2023); Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM), LU (2022); Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig (2021); Nottingham Contemporary, UK; and Haus der Kunst, Munich (2020). Her work is currently shown at the 14th Shanghai Biennale (2023) and was included in the 34th Bienal de São Paulo (2021), and the Kyiv Biennial (2021).
Image above: Sung Tieu, Photo: Adam Berry, Courtesy Schering Stiftung
The jury explained its choice from a total of 11 nominated artists as follows:
“In her artistic practice, Sung Tieu combines sculpture, drawing, sound, video, and installation. Referring to the visual language of minimalism, Tieu researches neglected socio-political histories, often focusing on Cold War-related narratives. An important aspect of her work is the investigation of police, military, and state administrative systems developed to control, condition, and direct human behavior. By referencing design and architecture found in public spaces and administrative institutions, the artist employs both visual and auditory elements to illustrate how power is exerted over individuals.
Over the past years, Tieu has developed an impressive body of work addressing underexposed topics such as the psychological effects of sounds used in warfare, the obfuscations of risks relating to hydraulic fracturing in the US, and a 1980 recruitment agreement between the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Her careful and multi-layered research into the latter subject has resulted in multiple projects reflecting on the complexities and blind spots of Germany’s recent past and the lingering impacts for numerous, intergenerational communities. Here, Tieu’s sensitive approach towards events closely connected with her own family story places an individual perspective in relation to a largely unexplored chapter of German history.
In these socio-politically challenging times, we consider it particularly important to honor an artistic position that deals with and critically discusses Germany’s complex history. By presenting Sung Tieu with the 2024 Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research, we aim to celebrate her artistic endeavors to reflect on overlooked narratives, provide her with the opportunity to present her body of work in a large survey exhibition, and encourage future research by commissioning new work and a publication.”
The jury was composed of Defne Ayas (Curator, Berlin), Emma Enderby (designated Director, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin), Charlotte Klonk (Professor of Art and New Media, Humboldt University Berlin; member of the Foundation Council of Schering Stiftung, Berlin), Jenny Schlenzka (Director, Gropius Bau, Berlin), and Helena Uambembe (Artist, DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program fellow 2023, Berlin).
The following experts were invited to nominate an artist:
Fernanda Brenner (Artistic Director, Pivô, São Paulo, BR), Angela Bulloch, Simon Denny, Willem de Roij (Founders, Berlin Program for Artists, Berlin), Micheal Do (Curator of Contemporary Art, Sydney Opera House, AU), Elvira Dyangani Ose (Director, Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona – MACBA, ES), Emma Enderby (designated Director of KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin), Amira Gad (Curator, Rotterdam, NL), Ruba Katrib (Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs, MoMA PS1, New York, US), Helena Kritis (Chief Curator, Wiels, Brussels, BE), Serge Klymko (Managing Director, Kyiv Biennial, UA), Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel (Director, Lafayette Anticipations, Paris, FR), Kabelo Malatsie (former Director, Kunsthalle Bern, CH), Lucia Pietroiusti (Head of Ecology, Serpentine Galleries, London, UK), and Xue Tan (Senior Curator, Tai Kwun Contemporary 大館當代美術館, Hong Kong, HK).
Out of a total of 15 nominated artists, only 11 submitted their documents. Two artists were unable to accept the nomination as they had no capacity to work on additional exhibition projects. Two artists have chosen to strike against German State-funded culture-institutions and therefore decided not to accept the nomination. We hope to work together again in future projects.
Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research:
The Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research has grown out of the Schering Stiftung Art Award, which from 2005 until 2018 was presented every two years to an international artist. Former award recipients include Cornelia Renz (2005), Nairy Baghramian (2007), Renata Lucas (2009), Wael Shawky (2011), Kate Cooper (2014), Hiwa K (2016), and Anna Daučíková (2018).
The award was redesigned in 2019 in cooperation with the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion, which in 2020 launched a funding program for artistic research that has received much attention across Europe. As a joint initiative combining public and private funding, the award aims to honor pioneers in the field of artistic research. The first Award for Artistic Research was given to Rabih Mroué in 2020, and the second to Kameelah Janan Rasheed in 2022. The award honors international artists who have developed unique forms of knowledge creation through aesthetic means. It also aims to awaken public interest in artistic research and to show in what ways art contributes to knowledge in society.
In 2024 the award is presented in cooperation with KW Institute for Contemporary Art for the eighth time. The 15,000-euro award includes a solo exhibition at KW, for which the artist creates new work as well as a publication. The exhibition will be curated by Léon Kruijswijk, curator at KW, and is scheduled to open in February 2025.
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