Henkel Arts Prize Awarded to Romanian Artist * Utl.: Contribution to European Integration =

VIENNA November 21 (PROTEXT/ots) - The first ever Henkel ArtsPrize for contemporary drawing has been awarded to a Romanianartist. The jury selected Dan Perjovschi of Romania to be therecipient of this year's competition after having evaluated atotal of 182 works of art submitted from 15 countries. HenkelCentral Eastern Europe originally set up the contest, which firsttook place this year, to support artists in Central and EasternEurope. The prize for contemporary art, which amounts to 5000Euro, aims to improve understanding of the CEE geographicalregion and cultural area, as well as make a contribution to theprocess of European integration. The Young Artists Prize createdby Henkel was won by Szabolcs KissPál, an artist living andworking in Hungary. This award is designed to promote youngaspiring artists participating in the "Artists in Residence"programme of KulturKontakt Austria.

The focus of the Henkel Arts Prize for contemporary drawing,initiated by Henkel Central Eastern Europe (Henkel CEE), is toraise awareness of Central and Eastern Europe as a culturallysignificant area.

Henkel CEE has successfully persuaded KulturKontakt Austriato serve as a partner in this project. KulturKontakt Austria hasbeen managing arts projects in Central and Eastern Europe for thelast ten years. Each year, it invites applicants from EasternEuropean countries to take part in its "Artists in Residence"programme.Interface for Central and Eastern Europe

Henkel CEE based in Vienna has established itself within theworld-wide Henkel Group as the regional headquarters for Centraland Eastern Europe. Henkel's success story in Central and EasternEurope began in 1984 with the company's first pilot exportproject from Austria to the east. Since the founding of its firstsubsidiary in Hungary in 1987, Henkel has set up 50 othercompanies in the CEE region. The company has invested more than174 million Euro to date in order to expand its businessoperations in these emerging markets.

Today, Henkel CEE serves as the parent company coordinatingthe activities of 12 holding companies and 14 productionlocations, and is responsible for the markets in 15 countrieswith a total of 185 million inhabitants. In addition to Austria,these are: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic,Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,Slovenia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Henkel CEE employs a total of4,543 people, who generated revenues of 746 million Euro in theyear 2001.Mental Affinity, Geographical Proximity

"In addition to an expert knowledge of the region, our mentalaffinity and geographical proximity have been key factorscontributing to our success," says Mr. Friedrich Stara, Presidentof Henkel Central Eastern Europe.

Henkel CEE has made use of these competitive advantages toinitiate the Henkel Arts Prize for contemporary drawing for theCentral and Eastern European cultural region.

"An important aspect of the principles guiding the way weoperate has not only been our efforts to be economicallysuccessful in the emerging CEE markets, but to act as a "goodcitizen" and get involved in the social issues facing the societyin these countries," Mr. Stara adds.

It was by no means an easy task for the jury to choose thewinner of the art award from 182 works which were submitted. Thejury consisted of Liviana Dam from the Brukenthal Museum inSibiu, Romania; Gregor Podnar from the Skuc Gallery in Ljubljana,Slovenia; Rainer Fuchs, the Managing Director of the Museum ofModern Art, Ludwig Foundation of Vienna, the artist EricNeunteufel and Ms. Sabine Schauer, Communications Manager forHenkel Central Eastern Europe. They evaluated the works of artbefore finally deciding to award the prize to Romanian artist DanPerjovschi.Drawing as a Critical Commentary

"Dan Perjovschi uses drawing as an instrument to deal withsocially relevant issues. Among many tools, he utilizes books andposters to convey images. He has created a type of applieddrawing which also represents a critical commentary on portrayingdrawing as a decorative and expressive form of art," according toRainer Fuchs, spokesperson of the jury.

"For Mr. Perjovschi, drawing is a medium of circulationwithin society. He does not limit it to the idea of creating anirreplaceable, unique and original work of art. He follows thetradition of comics and cartoons, linking precise observations ofeveryday life with ironic commentary," Mr. Fuchs adds.

The drawing and text each serve to comment simultaneously inboth a critical and playful manner. Contrary to the conventionalattitude towards drawing which considers it to encompass a sketchand then a draft, Perjovschi's drawings have their own intrinsicvalue, which means they cannot simply be replaced or improved bysomething else. This approach distances itself from traditionaland stereotyped concepts of drawing, thus opening up newperspectives, opportunities and legitimacy.

Dan Perjovschi was born in Sibiu, and studied at theKunstakademie Iasi (lasi Academy of Art). Perjovschi's preferredform of art is drawing, which also incorporates installation,performance and video.

Henkel CEE also established another award - its Young ArtistsPrize amounting to 3000 Euro - in order to further supportaspiring young artists. Mr. Szabolcs KissPál, an artist who livesin Hungary, was selected from a group totalling 12 artists whohad each won the chance to participate in the Artists inResidence programme of KulturKontakt Austria. In addition toreceiving a three-month scholarship for Vienna from KulturKontaktAustria, Szabolcs KissPál was also awarded the 3000 Euro prizedonated by Henkel CEE. Henkel CEE headquartered in Vienna is one of the mostsuccessful companies for brand name products in Central andEastern Europe. Henkel CEE is market leader for hair careproducts, adhesives and surface technologies and has a topposition in the market for detergents and cleansers as well asfor cosmetics. In the year 2001, Henkel CEE posted revenues of746 million Euro, with a work force of 4,453 people.For more information, please contact:Henkel Central Eastern EuropeMs. Sabine SchauerTelephone: +43-1-71104-2253Fax: +43-1-71104-2650E-Mail: sabine.schauer@henkel.athttp://www.henkel-cee.com

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