Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (CCAA) 2008 Exhibi
Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (CCAA) 2008 Exhibition
DATE
November 8, 2008 - December 21, 2008
VENUE
White Cube/Black Box/Nave
Organized by
Chinese Contemporary Art Awards
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
Sponsored by UBS
Being announced in January and first presented last September in Shanghai Bund 18, The 2008 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards exhibition now opens at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. The exhibition features important and recent works by the 2008 CCAA awarded artists: Liu Wei, Tseng Yu-Chin, and Ai Weiwei.
The Chinese Contemporary Art Awards were founded by Uli Sigg in 1997 as a nonprofit entity to enhance the position of Chinese contemporary art both domestically and internationally. With the growth of the art market in the ensuing decade, the purpose of the awards has shifted to emphasize a critical position on the conversation over what constitutes meaningful art in current Chinese production. In the words of Uli Sigg, "The market is today the dominant force to validate artworks. To balance and enrich this debate, an institution such as the CCAA plays an important role." The awards offer a platform for artists to become recognized on the world stage and allow foreign curators to identify some of the most interesting art in greater China.
"We are really proud to present CCAA at UCCA. In showing the 2008 awarded artists, UCCA is committed to the future of Chinese art and recognizes its value beyond market forces", said Jerome Sans, UCCA director.
DATE
November 8, 2008 - December 21, 2008
VENUE
White Cube/Black Box/Nave
Organized by
Chinese Contemporary Art Awards
Ullens Center for Contemporary Art
Sponsored by UBS
Being announced in January and first presented last September in Shanghai Bund 18, The 2008 Chinese Contemporary Art Awards exhibition now opens at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. The exhibition features important and recent works by the 2008 CCAA awarded artists: Liu Wei, Tseng Yu-Chin, and Ai Weiwei.
The Chinese Contemporary Art Awards were founded by Uli Sigg in 1997 as a nonprofit entity to enhance the position of Chinese contemporary art both domestically and internationally. With the growth of the art market in the ensuing decade, the purpose of the awards has shifted to emphasize a critical position on the conversation over what constitutes meaningful art in current Chinese production. In the words of Uli Sigg, "The market is today the dominant force to validate artworks. To balance and enrich this debate, an institution such as the CCAA plays an important role." The awards offer a platform for artists to become recognized on the world stage and allow foreign curators to identify some of the most interesting art in greater China.
"We are really proud to present CCAA at UCCA. In showing the 2008 awarded artists, UCCA is committed to the future of Chinese art and recognizes its value beyond market forces", said Jerome Sans, UCCA director.
Liu Wei, Ai Weiwei, Tseng Yu-Chin were selected by a jury committee consisting of Hou Hanru, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs and Chair of Exhibitions and Museum Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute; Ken Lum, Canadian artist of Chinese heritage who has received a Guggenheim fellowship, enjoyed a career in education, and been invited to many major exhibition; Gu Zhenqing, curator and critic in charge of the recently opened gallery Li Space; Chris Dercon, director of the Haus der Kunst in Munich; Ruth Noack, curator of Documenta 12; Huang Du, independent curator and critic who curated the sixth Shanghai Biennale; and Uli Sigg, founder of CCAA. These esteemed critics, artists, and curators took as their criteria the display of original and unique talent in artistic creation. This academic criteria should help stimulate debate over the concept of artistic value in the currently booming art market. The exhibition of the winning artists works will be accompanied by a publication written by Pauline Yao, who received the newly-established Chinese Contemporary Art Award for independent art criticism in 2008.
The jury of the Chinese Contemporary Art Award has taken these discussions:
Best Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Liu Wei
In recent years, Liu Wei continues to challenge the limitation of experience and the board of international art language. He represents the strong views of Chinese contemporary art in the installation and conceptual art world. In his own art experiment he keeps refreshing the individuals system and doubt the things we already know from the perspective of forms and methodically and creative. He has shaken our understanding of the comporarity and exhibitions. Liu Wei is never afraid of future failure and is brave enough to be re born after death. On this level, he can go beyond the links of global production and customers under the unreasonable boom of the present Chinese contemporary art scene. Liu Wei’s work offers a certain model of how we can go beyond the so called Chinese contemporary art and its images.
Best Young Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Tseng Yu-Chin
The art of Tseng Yu-Chin is characterized by a deep and fragile humanism. His concern is the role of the individual in the context of a changing contemporary society, in particular, the demise of traditional community and family configurations. That offered, Tseng’s art is also filled with redemption and hope. His films are in turns compassionate and voyeuristic, even to the point of rendering to a crisis point the depiction of its subjects.
Tseng Yu-Chin was one of the key discoveries of Documenta 12. His art pays homage to the pioneering video art of Zheng Pei Li while developing from it an aesthetic voice all its own. His art often assumes the form of video vignettes excised from a model of Taiwanese cinema. He represents an important bridge between the changing modernity of the mainland and the changing modernity of Taiwan.
Lifetime Contribution Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Ai Weiwei
The 2008 lifetime contribution award is given to Ai Weiwei. Perhaps no artist has mirrored the volatile and challenging development of Chinese Contemporary art more deeply and accurately than Ai Weiwei. A cornerstone of Documenta 12, Ai Weiwei’s work has transcended the category of contemporary art in China into the very heart of Chinese society, from China’s complex social and political dynamics to advances in its radically changing architectural and design spaces. His multivalent contributions have over the years made Ai Weiwei a veritable reference point for any student who desires to gain an understanding of the present situation of Chinese contemporary art and culture. Last but not least, Ai Weiwei s recognized and awarded for having achieved high international regards while advancing China’s self understanding at a salient juncture in its advancing modernizing project.
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The jury of the Chinese Contemporary Art Award has taken these discussions:
Best Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Liu Wei
In recent years, Liu Wei continues to challenge the limitation of experience and the board of international art language. He represents the strong views of Chinese contemporary art in the installation and conceptual art world. In his own art experiment he keeps refreshing the individuals system and doubt the things we already know from the perspective of forms and methodically and creative. He has shaken our understanding of the comporarity and exhibitions. Liu Wei is never afraid of future failure and is brave enough to be re born after death. On this level, he can go beyond the links of global production and customers under the unreasonable boom of the present Chinese contemporary art scene. Liu Wei’s work offers a certain model of how we can go beyond the so called Chinese contemporary art and its images.
Best Young Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Tseng Yu-Chin
The art of Tseng Yu-Chin is characterized by a deep and fragile humanism. His concern is the role of the individual in the context of a changing contemporary society, in particular, the demise of traditional community and family configurations. That offered, Tseng’s art is also filled with redemption and hope. His films are in turns compassionate and voyeuristic, even to the point of rendering to a crisis point the depiction of its subjects.
Tseng Yu-Chin was one of the key discoveries of Documenta 12. His art pays homage to the pioneering video art of Zheng Pei Li while developing from it an aesthetic voice all its own. His art often assumes the form of video vignettes excised from a model of Taiwanese cinema. He represents an important bridge between the changing modernity of the mainland and the changing modernity of Taiwan.
Lifetime Contribution Artist of Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008: Ai Weiwei
The 2008 lifetime contribution award is given to Ai Weiwei. Perhaps no artist has mirrored the volatile and challenging development of Chinese Contemporary art more deeply and accurately than Ai Weiwei. A cornerstone of Documenta 12, Ai Weiwei’s work has transcended the category of contemporary art in China into the very heart of Chinese society, from China’s complex social and political dynamics to advances in its radically changing architectural and design spaces. His multivalent contributions have over the years made Ai Weiwei a veritable reference point for any student who desires to gain an understanding of the present situation of Chinese contemporary art and culture. Last but not least, Ai Weiwei s recognized and awarded for having achieved high international regards while advancing China’s self understanding at a salient juncture in its advancing modernizing project.
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"These exhibitions and this book will shed more light on the winning artists Liu Wei, Tseng Yu-Chin, and Ai Weiwei. They were selected in a very intense jury meeting and they deserve all the attention the CCAA book and exhibitions can create!"
-Uli Sigg
Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008 Exhibition:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ai Weiwei, born 1957 Beijing, based in Beijing
Best Artist: Liu Wei, born 1972 Beijing, based in Beijing
Best Young Artist: Tseng Yu-Chin, born 1978 Taibei, based in Taibei
-Uli Sigg
Chinese Contemporary Art Awards 2008 Exhibition:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ai Weiwei, born 1957 Beijing, based in Beijing
Best Artist: Liu Wei, born 1972 Beijing, based in Beijing
Best Young Artist: Tseng Yu-Chin, born 1978 Taibei, based in Taibei
Ai Weiwei
LIU WEI
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