The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

For Gober, the physical construction of his artwork is as important as the experiences which inform his work. Through the hands-on process of recreating familiar objects, Gober controls every detail of the size, scale, material, and context of his pieces. Gober leads us to rethink our relationship with familiar objects by physically and conceptually manipulating them, and to question the cultural significance of things we see everyday.

The artwork of Robert Gober is fed by the experiences of the artist; bringing our own experiences to Gober's work helps us to examine it. Human experience takes place in the context of the vessel of our own bodies­ the object through which our internal thoughts are translated into outside communications and where outside experiences are made into internal memories. The body, as meeting place of public and private, personal and cultural, is the focus of much of Robert Gober's work. Gober pays careful attention to the process and pacing through which the viewer experi­ences his work.

Curated by Harry Philbrick

Established in 1992 and first awarded in 1993, The Larry Aldrich Foundation Award signified individual achievement in the visual arts and is presented to and American artist whose talent, innovation, and risk-taking have made an outstanding contribution to the field of contemporary art.

Over time, the amount of the award has increased from $5,000 in 1993 to $7,500 in 1994, and still higher in 1995. Today, recipients of the prize are awarded $25,000 and a one-person exhibition at The Aldrich Museum with accompanying catalogue. The 998 recipient is multi-media installation artist Ann Hamilton, who joins a distinguished list of past recipients including Bruce Nauman (1995), Cindy Sherman (1994), and Elizabeth Murray (1993).