DaimlerChrysler Financial Services honors young U.S. artists with the Emerging Artist Award 2007

Berlin – This year’s Emerging Artist Award, sponsored by DaimlerChrysler Financial Services, has been won by the young U.S. architects Dharmesh Patel and Marty McElveen. Both of them are graduates of the renowned Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The prizewinners will exhibit their works in the atrium of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services headquarters at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. In addition, both of them will receive artists’ stipends for a one-month stay in Berlin and a networking and mentoring program run by the city’s Künstlerhaus Bethanien, an artists’ residency project.

The Emerging Artist Award, which is being presented this year for the third time, is a result of the long partnership between DaimlerChrysler Financial Services and the Cranbrook Academy of Art. The award is presented annually in recognition of a particularly innovative work by a graduate of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. It gives talented young artists the opportunity to enter into dialogue with fellow artists in Europe and thus further develop their creative capacity.

“We bring these talented young people to Berlin so that they can benefit from the artistic and cultural environment of Berlin and Europe and gather a wealth of impressions and inspiration here,” explains DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Board of Management Chairman Jürgen Walker. “Our experiences of the past two years and our employees’ strong sense of identification with this partnership has increased our commitment to this project.”

The award winners — Dharmesh Patel, who was born in Gujrat, India, and grew up in New Jersey, U.S., and Marty McElveen, an American who grew up in southern Louisiana — have been working on architectural and design projects for several years. Both of them received Master of Architecture degrees this year from the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

“The special combination of creative design, skilled craftsmanship, and technology is clearly evident in the works of these two artists,” says Walker concerning the jury’s choice of Patel and McElveen for the award. “Their approach to architecture as well as their technical construction process are marked by tremendous innovative power.”

The award-winning outdoor installation created by the two artists consists of two pavilions and a reflecting wall that refer to elements of the Cranbrook grounds, which were designed by Eliel Saarinen. The installation invites viewers to linger, observe, and contemplate. “Technological progress has subordinated craftsmanship to industrial monotony and degraded our man-made environment to a state of apathy,” says Patel. “Our works begin where human understanding and the human body ‘fail’ and look to technology for assistance.” McElveen adds, “Digital technology enables us to take an entirely new approach to the way we perceive, create, and ultimately experience space.”

Two installations created by the artists will be on show in September at the art fair ART FORUM BERLIN. Patel and McElveen will create a “lounge island” in the Palais of the art fair and an outdoor pavilion, both of which can be seen during the art fair from September 29 to October 3, 2007.

Details of the exhibition:

Also on show will be the works of nine other Cranbrook graduates who were nominated for the award: Alexander Tochilovsky (2D Design), Amy Elizabeth Feigley (Sculpture), John Falley (Metalsmithing), Jung Min Lee (Print/Media), Katie Hinton (Painting), Matt Alexander (3D Design), Nancy VanDevender (Textiles), Suk Jin Choi (Ceramics) and Tommy Reynolds (Photography).

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services

DaimlerChrysler Financial Services provides tailor-made financial services that help promote the sale of vehicles from the DaimlerChrysler Group worldwide. On the strength of its comprehensive range of leasing, financing, insurance, and fleet management services, the company manages a contract volume of €113 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services leases or finances the sale of over one third of all the vehicles produced by DaimlerChrysler worldwide. The company, which has its headquarters in Berlin, operates in more than 40 countries and has around 11,000 employees. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services is extensively involved in various social and cultural projects around the world with the aim of opening up new prospects for young people.

Cranbrook Academy of Art

The Cranbrook Academy of Art is located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Devoted to instruction in art, architecture, and design, it is one of the most renowned art academies in the U.S. Cranbrook currently offers Master of Fine Arts and Master of Architecture degrees. The Academy is a community of artists and students, where learning and creativity are promoted on the basis of an intense exploration of contemporary issues in art, design, and architecture. Carl Milles, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Daniel Libeskind and numerous other Cranbrook artists have had a major impact on the art, design, and architecture of our time.

Further information is available on the Internet at:

www.cranbrookart.edu