Li Hongbo Wins 13th Annual Sovereign Asian Art Prize
BY NICHOLAS FORREST | MAY 07, 2017
'Desire' by Li Hongbo I China
('Desire' by Li Hongbo I China)
Li Hongbo has been announced the winner of the 13th annual Sovereign Asian Art Prize. The Chinese artist won Asia’s longest established and most prestigious award for contemporary art with a sculpture titled “Desire,” making him the first artist to win the Prize for a 3D work. He was awarded USD 30,000 and a trophy and at the Foundation’s annual Gala Dinner and Auction on May 5 in Hong Kong.
“Desire” consists of a knife with a series of delicately carved silhouettes of running figures extending from the blade, with each figure following each other in a line as though chasing the same objective. According to the curatorial statement, the work is a warning that human beings will eventually destroy themselves because of their gluttony and their abuse of animals.
Li Hongbo was nominated for The Sovereign Asian Art Prize by Hong Kong-born artist and curator Gary Mok Wai-hong. He was chosen as the winner of the Prize by a judging panel from a shortlist of more than 530 artworks by almost 300 mid-career artists who were nominated by a total of 66 independent art professionals from across the Asia Pacific region.
Commenting on his win, Li Hongbo said: “I am very honoured and would like to thank The Sovereign Asian Art Prize and the panel of judges for awarding me this prize. This achievement is a very big encouragement for me and will drive me to work harder. I have decided to donate all the prize money to good causes.”
“I would like to donate 50% of the prize money back to The Sovereign Art Foundation, to help and support their programmes for underprivileged children across Asia; and 50% to the Jilin Normal University for the teachers training programme, so they can continue to spread their love and knowledge to the next generation.”
No comments:
Post a Comment