Rockbund Art Museum 上海外滩美术馆

Shanghai, China, October 26, 2017 — HUGO BOSS ASIA ART: Award for Emerging Asian Artists opened early today at Rockbund Art Museum (RAM) in Shanghai, presenting artworks by the four finalist artists: Li Ming (China), Tao Hui (China), Yu Ji (China), Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore). Following the success of the first and second editions in 2013 and 2015 respectively, HUGO BOSS ASIA ART AWARD for Emerging Asian Artists is well regarded as a very high-profile award that honors emerging contemporary artists in the early stages of their artistic creation and exhibition practices. The announcement of the winner of the 2017 HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award will be made on 23 November 2017, with a stipend of RMB 300,000.

The exhibition is open to the public from October 27, 2017 to February 11, 2018. The show will present newly commissioned works as well as existing artworks by the four finalists, through which the audience will partake in the artists’ vision of what contemporary art holds in terms of promising potential and new directions.

HUGO BOSS ASIA ART: Award for Emerging Asian Artists— which is made up of the award selection process, the exhibition of the finalist artists and the on-going public and educational programs — has served as a platform for young talented artists throughout Asia, and is committed to exploring and presenting different artistic and social contexts in present-day Greater China and Southeast Asia. “The HUGO BOSS ASIA Award has taken a wonderful development. We are very enthusiastic about the 2017 show and the inspiring works of the nominated artists,” says Dr. Hjördis Kettenbach, Head of Cultural Affairs, HUGO BOSS AG. As Larys Frogier, the Director of Rockbund Art Museum and Chair of the HUGO BOSS ASIA ART jury elaborates, “With brilliant and often unexpected uses of video, sculpture, installation and performance, the four artists unfold through the Museum new forms of narratives and exciting jumps or twists from cultural contexts to subjective fantasies, from historical references to new contemporary social topics, from documentary displays to fictional experiences. The very unique proposals made by each of the artists demonstrate how fresh, meaningful and decisive their contributions to invigorate the contemporary art scenes in China and Asia are.”

The diversity among emerging Asian artists is amply demonstrated through the rich and flexible forms of creativity in the four nominated artists, with artworks that span sculpture, videos, photographs and installations. The artworks range from the natural sciences to conceptual representations, from observations of urban life and dwellers to artistic declarations emerging from such observations.

Li Qi, the senior curator of the exhibition, remarks, “In the exhibition, the four finalist artists of 2017 HUGO BOSS ASIA ART Award not only show representative works from recent years but also focus on presenting new works commissioned by the Rockbund Art Museum. We can clearly recognize that the four artists contribute to a new language and form in visual art through their practices. They care for artistic traditions, mass culture, cross-disciplinary boundaries, and active interventions in reality. Their growth has accompanied the process whereby the contemporary artistic systems of the region have progressively become more rounded out. They actively maintain their own creative autonomy, seeking creative freedom and space while hoping to realize progressive breakthroughs. Through life, travels, reading, friendships, and even meditation, they can experience a broader world, while at the same time continually delve into their own minds and spirits, constantly seeking and exploring. Through the exhibition, we can sense the ardor, energy, and attention of the artists, and share their wealth of emotions and rational reflections...”

中国上海 （2017年10月26日），上海外滩美术馆与HUGO BOSS宣布2017年“HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖 ”入围艺术家作品展已于今日拉开帷幕。“HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖”自2013年创办以来，已成为最具权威的亚洲当代艺术奖项之一。2017年“HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖”，经过提名人的推荐，评委会委员的斟酌评选，入围的亚洲新锐艺术家是李明（中国）、陶辉（中国）、于吉（中国）、赵仁辉（新加坡），最终获奖者将于2017年11月23日公布。

作为本届大奖最值得期待的看点，从2017年10月27日至2018年2月11日，四位入围艺术家的作品展将在上海外滩美术馆对公众开放。本次展览中将展出每位艺术家代表性的作品，也将呈现其全新委托创作的作品，观众们可以由此发现艺术家们所标记的当代艺术发展的潜力与新动向。

“HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖”作为一个展示亚洲不同区域新锐艺术家的平台，包括两年一届的奖项评选，入围艺术家群展，以及持续进行的研究和教育计划，致力于推动艺术实践与批判性思考，将近一步发掘大中华与东南亚地区正在涌现的新锐艺术家。“‘HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖’在过去五年里有了惊人的发展, 我们对2017年的展览和入围艺术家发人深省的作品抱有极大的热情，”HUGO BOSS集团艺术项目负责人约迪斯·克滕巴赫博士说。正如上海外滩美术馆馆长、“HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖”评审委员会主席拉瑞斯·弗洛乔所阐述的，“通过对录像、雕塑、装置和行为出人意料的精彩运用，四位艺术家在新的叙事形式中呈现了自己，从文化语境到主观幻想，从历史指涉到新的当代社会话题，从纪录展示到虚构体验，他们做出了激动人心的闪躲腾挪。每位艺术家的提案都是独一无二的，展现出他们对欣欣向荣的中国和亚洲当代艺术的贡献是何其的新鲜、切实和重要。”

本次展览的四位入围艺术家展现出丰富而灵活的创作形式，充分展现了亚洲新锐艺术家的多样性。展览涵盖雕塑、录像、摄影、装置等，从自然学科研究到观念性的再现，从对城市和人物的观察到把这些观察化为艺术的宣言，不仅解构了既有的艺术规则，更在视觉语言创造与观看的过程中，全面迎对不可预见的形式、体验与意义。

据本次展览的策展人李棋介绍，2017年“‘HUGO BOSS亚洲新锐艺术家大奖’的四位入围艺术家在本次展览中既带来了近年的代表性作品，更着重呈现了由上海外滩美术馆委托创作的新作。我们可以明确地认识到，这四位艺术家通过实践为视觉艺术贡献了新的语言和形式，他们关注艺术传统、大众文化，跨越学科边界，并主动对现实实施干预。他们的成长伴随着这一地区当代艺术体制愈趋完善的发展进程，作为其中的参与者，这一代新锐艺术家们愈发有意识地寻求与体制博弈的策略，也更加积极地维护自己的创作自主性，谋求创作自由和空间，以期实现阶段性突破。他们通过生活、旅行、阅读、交游，乃至冥想来认识和体验这个开阔的世界，同时也不断地潜入自己的内心，反复求索。通过展览，我们可以感受到艺术家的热忱、力量和专注，分享他们丰富的情感和理性的思考。”