The Hermitage Artist Retreat, in collaboration with the Greenfield Foundation, has selected New York-based artist Jennifer Packer as the winner of the 2020 Greenfield Prize, given this year in the field of visual art. Packer will receive a six-week residency at the Hermitage and a $30,000 commission for a new work, which will premiere in Sarasota in 2022 with the Hermitage’s presenting partner, The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Andy Sandberg, the Hermitage’s artistic director and chief executive officer, notes that Packer was selected by a prestigious jury that included Valerie Cassel-Oliver, the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Daniel Byers, director of the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University; and Veronica Roberts, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin. Jennifer Packer creates expressionist portraits, interior scenes, and still lifes that suggest a casual intimacy. Packer views her works as the result of an authentic encounter and exchange. “I think about images that resist, that attempt to retain their secrets or maintain their composure, that put you to work,” she explains. “I hope to make works that suggest how dynamic and complex our lives and relationships really are.” Packer will receive her award at the Greenfield Prize Award Dinner on Sunday, April 19, 6 pm, at Michael’s On East, 1212 East Avenue South, in Sarasota. The dinner will be co-chaired by Ellen Berman and Flora Major, with honorary co-chairs, Steven High, executive director of The Ringling, and Anne-Marie Russell, executive director of Sarasota Art Museum. Tickets begin at $175 with benefactor and sponsorship levels available; reservations can be made online at www.HermitageArtistRetreat.org. Further details about the Hermitage Greenfield Prize Weekend, including the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner Martyna Mayok’s new play, in partnership with the Asolo Rep, will be announced at a later date. The Hermitage Greenfield Weekend is presented in partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

To learn more about the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Prize