The award ceremony celebrates the third edition of the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize, a project that unites MAXXI and Bulgari in the support and promotion of young artists.
The exhibition which began on 24 June it will close exactly on November 20th, sees works by Alessandra Ferrini (Florence, 1984), Silvia Rosi (Scandiano – RE, 1992) and Namsal Siedlecki (USA, 1986).
Set up in the spectacular Gallery 5 on the third floor of the museum, the exhibition presents three works produced and created specifically for the Prize, on the basis of which the same international jury that selected them
composed by Hou Hanru, Artistic Director of MAXXI, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Director of MAXXI Arte, Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, Chiara Parisi, Director of Pompidou Metz and Dirk Snauwaert, Director of WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, the winner will be announced on October 25th, whose work will become part of the MAXXI collection.
The finalists
Alessandra Ferrarini (Florence, 1984) lives and works in London. Italian artist, researcher, educator based in London, her work develops through the use and combination of different expressive languages, from the moving image to installation and performance. Ferrini's research is rooted in the study of post-colonialism, historiographical practices, archiving processes and she critically analyzes the relationships between Italy, the Mediterranean region and the African continent. Silvia Rossi (Scandiano, RE, 1992) lives and works between London and Modena. Italian-to-golese visual artist and photographer, Silvia Rosi's work focuses on the theme of origins and on the personal, historical and social characteristics that determine an individual's identity. Through the self-portrait genre, Rosi recovers the experience of her family by updating stories, memories and ancient traditions. Inspired by the Togolese heritage, her works favor the photographic medium and the moving image combined with textual fragments. Namsal Siedlecki (Greenfield – USA, 1986) lives and works in Seggiano (GR). Siedlecki places the constant transformation of matter, natural and artificial, at the center of his work, enhancing its infinite expressive and semantic qualities. Stories of ancient rituals, memories and traditions inspire the particular technique and aesthetics of his works, sculptures and installations in which the process of manipulation, control and change of materials evokes the ancestral question of the relationship between man and nature.
He claims Giovanna Melandri, President of the MAXXI Foundation on the occasion of the presentation of the exhibition
"The relationship with personal and collective memory, with history, with nature, are themes that have become increasingly central in the light of the profound geopolitical, social and ecological transformations we are witnessing, and the MAXXI BVLGARI Prize could only reflect all of this. The Prize, which is one of the most important events for the Museum – developed together with Bulgari, our strategic partner since 2018, a company that has always been attentive to research and with which we share the mission of investing in the creativity of our time – puts us behind the gaze of young artists letting us glimpse the future and perhaps the best way to face it.”
History of the MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE Award
Born in 2000 as a prize for young art, the prize is the starting point and the birth of the MAXXI Arte Collection. Over the years, it has been an important stepping stone for many artists.
There are 42 who, from 2001 to 2018, took part in the previous 10 editions, among them, Mario Airò, Yuri Ancarani, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Stefano Arienti, Micol Assaël, Rosa Barba, Massimo Bartolini, Vanessa Beecroft, Rossella Biscotti, Ludovica Carbotta, Patrizio Di Massimo, Bruna Esposito, Lara Favaretto, Piero Golia, Adelita Husni-Bey, Avish Khebrehzadeh, Liliana Moro, Marinella Senatore, Nico Vascellari, Vedovamazzei, Francesco Vezzoli, Zapruder and many others. In 2018 the first edition of the MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE was won by Diego Marcon, finalist together with Talia Chetrit and Invernomuto, whose work Calendoola: SURUS was acquired thanks to the contribution of the Amici del MAXXI. The 2020 edition saw the victory of finalist Tomaso De Luca together with Giulia Cenci and Renato Leotta.
