The jury already agreed on November on nine nominees from among the preliminary selection of artists, whose works were on display at the Winzavod Contemporary Art Center in Moscow. Vladlena Gromova won the “Best Young Artist” award. Vladislav Mamyshey-Monroe was awarded the prize in the “Best Media Art Project” category, Peter Goloschapov, a young artist from Moscow, received the “Audience’s Prize”.

“Artist of the Year”, Anatoly Osmolovsky, had submitted a group of bronze replicas of parts of tanks from his series entitled “Goods”, which were already seen at this year’s documenta. It was the both simple and complex linking of sculptural material and political issues which convinced the jury to unanimously select this work. Also nominated in this category was the group of artists AES+F, who have already established themselves in the international world of art. Their work, “Last Riot”, was on display at this year’s Venice Biennale.

Vladlena Gromova won the “Best Young Artist” category, which deliberately focuses on young artists at the beginning of an international career who have not yet established themselves. Vladlena Gromova wins a three-month stay in Villa Romana for her extremely humorous video work on the subject of the portrait. The artists’ residence in Florence, representing Deutsche Bank’s oldest cultural commitment, is dedicated, like the “Kandinsky Prize”, to supporting new art and impressively illustrates the broad international and cross-institutional network created by the bank’s cultural activities. The invitation extended to award-winners is intended to underline and expand this international network.

The award in the “Best Media Art Project of the Year” category went to Vladislav Mamyshev-Monroe. This prize endowed with € 10,000 is intended to promote an art genre which is still relatively new in Russia. In addition to the categories selected by the jury, an Audience’s Prize worth € 5,000 was awarded to Peter Goloschapov on the basis of an Internet voting procedure. Born in 1982, he won the audience’s favour with sculptures and drawings reminiscent of Russian youth culture.

With the Kandinsky Prize the Deutsche Bank Foundation is making a commitment to promoting the young Russian art scene and thus is continuing the bank’s tradition of corporate social responsibility activities in Russia spanning a period of almost 25 years.  Alongside sponsored exhibitions and presentations from the Deutsche Bank Collection, Russia’s talented artists are now being supported. Making it possible for each individual to expand their horizons, and in doing so to use the innovative strength of contemporary art, is an integral part of Deutsche Bank’s identity.

The exhibition of the preliminary and award-winning works will also be on display in Germany and the U.S. in 2008. A bilingual catalogue has already been published.