Meet the Winner of the 2024 CPGA – Étant donnés Prize
Selected from among 25 artists represented by 8 French galleries and 17 international galleries, Johanna Mirabel and Galerie Nathalie Obadia received the honor for two paintings, La Crue (2024) and Le Dernier Dimanche (2024), which take inspiration from the concept of Carnival and delve into its diverse cultural manifestations, from the works of James Ensor to vivid Guyanese celebrations. Mirabel’s vibrant palette and blend of sharply defined and softly sketched faces bring to life themes of identity and the complexity of existence, while sparking curiosity in spectators.
Jury members, especially appreciated Mirabel’s “technical virtuosity, scale, and chosen subject of Carnival; the promise of her practice; and the commitment of the gallery Nathalie Obadia to supporting an artist at the dawn of an exciting career.”
About Johanna Mirabel
Johanna Mirabel, a French painter of Guyanese descent and a 2019 graduate of the Beaux-Arts de Paris, has garnered acclaim for her evocative works that blend memory and imagination. Winner of the 10th Bourse Révélations Emerige, her art reflects a dialogue between the domestic and the dreamlike, inspired by Guyanese homes and New York brownstones of the Harlem Renaissance. Mirabel’s canvases explore the fluidity of interior and exterior spaces, intertwining lush vegetation with familiar settings. Her use of vibrant ochres, reds, and blues evokes both her Guyanese heritage and the influence of Helen Frankenthaler.
About Galerie Nathalie Obadia
Since the opening of its first gallery in Paris in 1993, followed by one in Brussels in 2008 and a second space in Paris in 2013, Nathalie Obadia has exhibited emerging and recognized artists from the international contemporary art scene. In the fall of 2021, Galerie Nathalie Obadia opened a new space in the Matignon Saint-Honoré district in Paris.
The CPGA – Étant donnés Prize
Co-organized by Villa Albertine, The French Institute for Culture and Education, and the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA), this award grants $15,000 to be shared between a contemporary French or France-based artist and their representing gallery, recognizing their outstanding artistic contributions.
For its fourth edition, the CPGA – Étant donnés Prize was decided by an esteemed jury of art patrons and leaders, including, Daisy Desrosiers, Director and Chief Curator of the GUND Gallery; Julia Halperin, a New York-based journalist and art critic; Paul Leong, a collector, Officer at MoMA’s Committee of the Contemporary Arts Council, and co-chair of the FCA Friends (Foundation for Contemporary Arts); François Sarkozy, a collector and co-founder of the CMS Collection; and Celia Sredni de Birbragher, a Colombian editor, researcher, collector, artist, critic, leader, and entrepreneur.
First introduced in 2019 and brought to Art Basel Miami Beach in 2022, the CPGA – Étant donnés Prize underscores Villa Albertine and CPGA’s commitment to excellence in contemporary art and amplifying the French art scene globally.
Named after Villa Albertine’s flagship visual arts program, the CPGA-Étant donnés Prize also honors a legacy of fostering transatlantic cultural exchange. Since 1994, the Étant donnés program has supported over 700 artists, 50 curators, and 350+ projects in 200 institutions across 87 cities in the U.S. and France. Étant donnés is organized by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation with the exclusive sponsorship of AXA, in partnership with Institut Français, French Ministry of Culture and ADAGP.
Past winners of the CPGA-Étant donnés Prize, include Daniel Otero Torres with mor charpentier, Julien Creuzet with High Art and Andrew Kreps Gallery, and Kapwani Kiwanga with Galerie Jérôme Poggi.