As one of the institutions with the richest tradition within the entrepreneurial promotion of culture in Germany, the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e.V. has been granting the ars viva Prize to young visual artists living in Germany since 1953. Bonner Kunstverein shows in an exclusive for Bonn new conceived exhibition this year’s ars viva awardees: Aleksandra Domanović, Yngve Holen and James Richards. For Aleksandra Domanović (b. 1981, Novi Sad, Serbia; lives and works in Berlin), electronic and digital media are simultaneously topic and tool. In her sculptures and videos, she analyzes how the internet and technological innovations have shaped her social environment and have molded the history of her native former Yugoslavia. Science fiction and media history from a feminist perspective are further topics that play a central role within her work. In his films, James Richards (b. 1983, Cardiff, Wales; lives and works in Berlin) uses appropriated material — from anonymous internet finds to old collected VHS tapes — alongside his own video and sound recordings. Just like a painter with his pigments, he configures items from his abundant material archive into a developed narrative composition, focusing on rhythm and texture, flow of images and colors, and atmospheric moods. In this sensual and associative narrative, he searches for images evoking memories and emotions. Digitization, laser scanning, CAD, CNC systems and 3D printing are techniques that YNGVE HOLEN (b. 1982 Braunschweig; lives and works in Berlin) utilizes in the creation of his works. Combined or associated with other readymade objects like washing machines or model aircrafts, he creates sculptural arrangements that maintain a hyperrealist aesthetic. In his application of new technologies alongside unexpected combinations of form and material— for example, a replica of a raw piece of meat carved from a marble block by the help of a 3D scan — Holen opens up a reflection of everyday visual codes. Following its presentation at the Bonner Kunstverein, the exhibition of the ars viva Prize of the Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e.V. will be presented in modified form at the Grazer Kunstverein (13 June to 2 August 2015). The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog, as well as by an artist’s edition portfolio (limited to an edition of 20 + 3 AP) consisting of one work each by Aleksandra Domanović, Yngve Holen and James Richards.