Dr. Peter Littmann, Chairman and CEO of Hugo Boss AG, and Thomas Krens, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, today are pleased to announce the short list for the 1996 Hugo Boss Prize.

The artists selected by the 1996 Hugo Boss Prize jury are Laurie Anderson, Janine Antoni, Matthew Barney, Cai Guo Qiang, Stan Douglas, and Yasumasa Morimura.

An exhibition of works by the short-listed artists will be presented at the Guggenheim Museum SoHo in October 1996. This will be the inaugural exhibition in the Hugo Boss Gallery at the Guggenheim Museum SoHo. The winner will be selected and announced in November of this year.

"The short-list artists selected by the jury for the first Hugo Boss Prize embody the spirit we have intended for the award," said Dr. Littmann. "As a company and as individuals, we seek to recognize and appreciate artistic achievement through a significant body of work that imparts a fresh spirit of creativity and expression." "The Hugo Boss Prize is another manifestation of the unique partnership between the Guggenheim Museum and Hugo Boss," commented Mr. Krens. "The focus on contemporary artists who are making an impact is both innovative and welcome, and the short-list artists who have been selected are a perfect fit with the award criteria."

The $50,000 prize, administered by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and juried by a distinguished international panel of museum curators, critics, and collectors, is awarded in recognition of a body of recent work representing a major aesthetic achievement or a significant development in contemporary art. According to the Hugo Boss Prize criteria, the body of work that secures the prize must contribute to expanding the boundaries of cultural possibility. There is no limit on age or nationality for the winning artist.

The jurors of the 1996 Hugo Boss Prize are Marie-Claude Beaud, Curator and Executive Director of the American Center, Paris; Lisa Dennison, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Guggenheim Museum; Dakis Joannou, collector of contemporary art, Athens, and President of the Guggenheim's International Director's Council; Thomas Krens; Fumio Nanjo, independent curator and art critic; and Nancy Spector, Associate Curator, Guggenheim Museum. Each jury member was invited to nominate up to ten artists. A review of slides, videos, and other documentation, along with discussions by the jurors, led to the short-list selections.