Winners of Combat Prize 2021

With the winners announcement, the twelfth edition of PREMIO COMBAT PRIZE, the international contemporary art competition created by the cultural association Blob Art, with the co-participation of the Municipality of Livorno, the contribution of the Livorno Foundation and the support of the Sillabe publishing house ended on Saturday 9 October.

The jury, composed of Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri, Francesca Baboni, Francesca Canfora, Kiki Mazzucchelli, Lorenzo Balbi, Stefano Taddei, has chosen Francesco Casati as the winner of the Painting section with the work "Mirò" with the following motivation: two figures float against the background of an indeterminate landscape, of clouds and vapours, and seem to be of the same substance as that landscape, subjected to a force that tends to deform and lengthen them. The chessboard functions as a centre of gravity, the concentration that gathers around it is another force that resists this deformation or movement. The composedly dreamlike atmosphere of quiet surrealism is common to several painters of his generation, but in the painting it is rendered above all through a layered, vibratory painting, a wave-like movement that runs through the image, lighting up in some places and dissipating in others. Special mention of the jury to Michele Savino.

For the Photography section, the jury declared Giulia Marchi the winner with her work " La natura dello spazio logico" (The nature of logical space) for the depth of her research, which succeeds in combining in an excellent way a profound reflection on literature and philosophy and a formal rendering in which references to the history and technique of the photographic process emerge clearly. Special mention of the jury to Elia Pinna.

For the Drawing section, the jury awarded PL with the work "Digiunare sull’erba" (Fasting on the grass) for its presentation as a drawing that intends to subvert the meaning of a famous Impressionist painting while paying homage to it. With a style that plays on two reading levels, that of reality and our unconscious, with the ability to recreate with the use of pastel a submerged world that takes up philosophical themes and invites meditation and reflection on the immaterial and material duality of life. Special mention of the jury to Alessandra Brown.

The jury declared Luca Petti he winner of the Sculpture/Installation section with the work "Specie elastiche per crepe dinamiche" (Elastic species for dynamic cracks) for his original way of blending tradition and contemporary in his sculptural practice, using a technical skill that combines innovative materials, such as tropicalised iron and bismuth, succeeding in giving voice to current issues linked to increasingly invasive human intervention in nature. Special mention of the jury to Giuseppe de Mattia.

Finally, for the Video section, the jury awarded the prize to Enrico Marcon with the work "Noblesse Obligehhrg 2". These are the reasons: dry, concentrated, with a few essential elements that give the work freshness and irony. Human too human, one might say, an almost Nietzschean metaphor on the crisis of contemporary man after the pandemic: exhausted perhaps but still able to get up and feel alive simply by listening to his breath. Special mention of the jury to Eleonora Luccarini.

For what concerns special awards, the "SAC contemporary art space" prize, which consists in the realisation of a site-specific project and a dedicated publication in the upcoming 2022 programming of the SAC, is awarded to Elena Shaposhnikova for having been able to represent with originality the eternal human effort to overcome the barriers of living, focusing on this attempt and leaving to each of us how to understand or complete this "climb".

The ART TRACKER prize, which foresees the inclusion of an artist under 35 in the program of events of Lucca Art Far 2021 with a new curatorial project, is awarded ex aequo to Erika Pellicci and Marco Rossetti for having been able to create, both, a disturbing urban or natural landscape, mnemonic and effective, between experienced and imagined places, which creates an effective disorientation in the spectator, creating differences in different levels, engulfing perception and introspection. With an important narrative and imaginative will that transforms suggestion into story.

The Poliart prize has been awarded to Monika Grycko, for her ability to take up the ancient technique of ceramics and mix it with contemporary suggestions, with an attentive eye to the dynamics of the present day. With the ability to develop a complex discourse that touches on burning issues, with references to literature and cinema and at the same time the ability to use different materials. The Poliart company, leader in the expanded polystyrene sector, will support the production of a new work by the artist.

Lastly, the "Popular Jury Prize", awarded on the basis of the preferences expressed by the participating public, will go to Roberto Goldoni, Matteo Mauro, Stefano Lepori and Jan Škop.

 

Winner of PAINTING section

 

Winner of PHOTOGRAPHY section

 

Winner of DRAWING section

 

Winner of SCULPTURE/INSTALLATION section

 

Winner of VIDEO section

 

Winner of special prize SAC Spazio Arte Contemporanea

 

Winners of special prize ART TRACKER

 

Winner of special prize POLIART

 

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Announced the 80 artists who have been shortlisted for the eleventh edition of PREMIO COMBAT PRIZE  and the recommended artists list who will be published on the catalogue.
Selection held by: Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri, Francesca Baboni, Francesca Canfora, Kiki Mazzucchelli, Lorenzo Balbi, Stefano Taddei.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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