Winners of Combat Prize 2024

The 15th edition of the COMBAT PRIZE, an international contemporary art competition conceived by the cultural association Blob Art ETS in collaboration with the Municipality of Livorno and supported by the Regione Toscana, Fondazione Livorno, Sillabe publishing house and partner Opera Laboratori, as well as Poliart, a leading manufacturer of expanded polystyrene, ended on Saturday 5 October with the announcement of the winners.

The jury, composed of Ilaria Gianni, Francesca Baboni, Angel Moya Garcia, Lorenzo Balbi, Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri and Stefano Taddei, chose as the winner of the Combat Prize, worth ten thousand euros, Federico Aprile with the work "Nel Grido di Anánkē", for the following reason: "The winning work emerged from among the many candidates and captured the jury's attention thanks to its ability to challenge the chosen medium and to use a large number of different techniques within it. The artist managed to combine visceral elements and surface details, sound waves and silent surfaces, imaginary landscapes and internal parts of a possible collective body in a perfect and balanced way, bringing a global message that reminds us how we are all in constant and inexorable change."

FOr the Painting section, the jury awarded the prize to Julie Polidoro with the work "Social Distance", for the following reason: "The artist translates into painting a scene taken from the Web, one of many that appear on our screens and are quickly replaced by others. The protagonist is a temporary evacuation center following a natural disaster. The migrants' faces are incomplete, their bodies isolated in their confines, and their loneliness and marginalization emerge from the vivid brushstrokes. The work reminds us of the importance of stopping our gaze on collective and anonymous tragedies through a pictorial language that interprets our socio-political times."
Jury special mention to Jilian Wu.

For the Photography section, the jury declared Camilla Postiglione the winner with the work "Bystanders", for the following reason: "The work revives a classic theme of the Romantic pictorial tradition, but with different nuances. The figures of bystanders in front of the landscape, alone in a semi-anthropized context, appear suspended between a sense of inappearance and a desire for abandonment. The frayed contours of the pictures instill a sense of perpetual unresolvedness."
Jury special mention to Giulia Sofi.

For the Graphics section, the prize was awarded to Marco Rossi with the work "Un attimo impensato", for the following reason: "For the extraordinary ability to describe the identity of the individual as an element of human transformation, through a free and lively stroke that expresses a tension through the monotype technique."
Special mention of the jury to Barbara Rosita Raimondo.

The jury declared Riccardo Bellelli the winner for the Sculpture/Installation section with the work "Turner", for the following reason: "The author pours regressive psychic mechanisms onto found objects and materials according to primarily pictorial-compositional values. This approach draws on neo-surrealist aesthetic categories based on ambiguous, ironic or perturbing juxtapositions."
Jury special mention to Grossi – Maglioni.

Lastly, for the Video section, the jury awarded Leila Erdman Tabukashvili with the work "I’m not afraid of the Apocalypse, I am afraid you don’t love me anymore" for the following reason: "For the poetic way in which she made a video focused on opposition to the war and the crime perpetrated by her homeland. Filmed three weeks before the start of mobilization in Russia on September 1, 2023, the video unfolds as a group portrait in which the moment before the beginning of the apocalypse is gradually revealed. Because of the topicality of the narrative, because of the attempt to record what happened so that it will not be forgotten, because of the need to tell from the inside what is spent concealed by the international media."
Jury special mention to Benedetta Fioravanti.

The awarding of the Gallery Prizes, a special prize created through collaboration with five leading contemporary art galleries and the independent space SAC Spazio Arte Contemporanea in Livorno, and consisting of the realization of an exhibition project at their venues in the 2023/24 season, thus giving continuity to the dialogue initiated during the participation in the Prize, saw the awarding of prizes:

Turin-based A Pick Gallery has selected artist Jilian Wu as its winner
Milan-based gallery A.More, has a awarded the artist Daniele Antoniazzi
the Federico Rui gallery in Milan has awarded the prize to Riccardo Vicentini
the Lunetta 11 gallery in Borgo Lunetta, Cuneo, has declared Lucia Cantò the winner
for the Magazzeno gallery in Bologna, the winner is Davide Zulli
Milan's Stazione Arte Contemporary gallery awarded the prize to Asya Dell’Uomodarme
finally, the independent SAC contemporary art space in Livornoselected as winners: Melissa Arena, Giulia Vanelli, Asya Dell’Uomodarme, Teresa Satta

The Poliart prize is awarded to Davide Zulli. The Poliart company, a leader in the expanded polystyrene industry, will support the production of a new work by the artist.

Finally, the Popular Jury Prize, warded based on the preferences expressed by the participating audience, is given to Marco Casalena with the work Pioneer.

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: Ilaria Gianni, Francesca Baboni, Angel Moya Garcia, Lorenzo Balbi, Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri e Stefano Taddei.