Ryan Trecartin, maker of weirdly wonderful videos that disturb by channeling today’s culture and parodying it back, won the first $150,000 Wolgin Prize for art tonight at a ceremony at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art.

After thanking Jack Wolgin, founder of the prize, Trecartin thanked his long-time collaborator who he called his best friend, Lizzie Fitch, who was in the audience.  He thanked all his collaborators.  “I should give them some of this,” he said.  He thanked his gallerist, Elizabeth Dee, and also thanked his mom and aunt who were there as well as his dad who wasn’t.  “This is going to change my practice,” he said.

Earlier I had spoken with Fitch who said she had just returned from Paris where they had shown their collaborative sculptures at the Paris art fair FIAC.

This is the Wolgin Prize’s first year in existence.  Philadelphia real estate developer Wolgin, a big supporter of the arts throughout his career, donated $3.2 million for the annual international art prize, with Tyler School of Art administering the prize and exhibition.    We at artblog hope they can find some women artists to be finalists next year.

NEW!  The Wolgin exhibition of the three finalists’ work has been extended to Nov. 14.