Artist Nicole Eisenman Wins Carnegie Prize

Scarsdale's Nicole Eisenman has won the Carnegie Prize, which is the 2013 Carnegie International's top award for her paintings and sculpture on exhibit at the show. Along with the $10,000 prize, she will receive the Medal of Honor designed by Tiffany & Co. for the first edition of the regular contemporary art survey, back in 1896.

Eisenman was one of just 35 artists selected to exhibit at the show which presents a broad spectrum of contemporary art. The work includes paintings, sculptures and installations – and features a large sculpture of Eisenman's dubbed "Prince of Swords" at the entry. The large-scale figure's hands are blackened from overuse of his cell phone -- a comment on the current state of the use of technology.

According to the exhibit catalogue, "The 2013 Carnegie International brings together a group of Eisenman's paintings, spanning her career from the early 1990s to 2011, on the balcony of the Hall of Sculpture. Like the relics of classical antiquity that surround them, seven of her recent sculptures—freestanding or occupying open plinths along the balustrade—evoke an archaeological playground of modern times. Both bodies of work demonstrate Eisenman's uncanny capacity for capturing the joy, pain, embarrassment, and ecstasy of being human."

A series of 45 of Eisenman's bold and colorful portraits were displayed at the Whitney Biennial in 2012 and were also featured at a solo exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis from January – April, 2014. In addition to painting, Eisenman has more recently turned to sculpture and these life-sized works are now on view at the Carnegie exhibition in Pittsburgh.

A 1987 graduated of Scarsdale High School, Eisenman is the daughter of Scarsdale Village Trustee Kay Eisenman and father Sheldon Eisenman, both of Greenacres. During high school Eiseman studied with Joan Busing, a painter and printmaker who taught art classes in Hartsdale to many local students. Eisenman says Busing was "hugely influential" and introduced her to "a world of art, music and ideas."  According to Busing, "I taught Nicole from the time she was fourteen-years-old, from the time she was in eighth grade until she graduated high school. She was definitely very talented and drew very well. She always had a different take on the subject, and would think "outside the box." I love her narrative ability to tell a story. Her drawing and painting skills are exceptional. She has amazing vision, and is extremely innovative. She was definitely one of the most serious art students I've taught that was determined from very early on, to be an artist.
I don't believe I've ever missed a show unless it was in Europe, and I always leave the space with a smile on my face. I believe that she is one of the most important women artists today."

View Eisenman's works at the Carnegie here:

(Pictured at top: Beer Garden with Ulrike and Celeste, 2009)