Carapelli for Art still rewards art on the theme of sustainability
The winners of the fourth edition of the international prize dedicated to visual arts have been announced. Over 1000 participants from 50 countries around the world.
The fourth edition of the international prize for the visual arts promoted by Carapelli has come to an end and this year too has recorded exceptional results in terms of quality and number of participations, confirming the intentions of the famous oil company to support the areas of culture and art.
As for the previous editions, there are two categories of the award: Open open to all professional artists, and Academy aimed at students of the Academies of Fine Arts of various countries.
This year's jury was made up of: Lorenzo Balbi (Director of MAMbo - Museum of Modern Art in Bologna), Elisa del Prete (producer, author and curator), Matteo Innocenti (independent curator and artistic director of La Portineria, Florence ), Massimiliano Tonelli (Editorial Director of Artribune), Gabriele Tosi (independent curator and artistic director of Localedue, Bologna).
The theme with which the artists who participated in the competition were confronted was Sustainability: “There are values that in a particular historical phase become more than important: they become necessary. Sustainability is the development model indicated as a solution that can now be pursued, as it is able to balance the growth of the current generation with that of future generations. There is a close proximity to a concept that crosses entire eras of human culture, namely harmony, as an agreement between equal and different elements from which a positive result derives. Art certainly plays a central role in the construction of a sustainable and harmonious present: the works propose visions, meanings, achievements, behaviors and responsibilities - from the economy to the environment, from work to social relationships - fundamental for our, still new , twenty-first century.”
The winners of the 2021 edition of Carapelli for Art for the Open category are, Francesco Carone and Lia Cecchin; for the Academy category. Elena Della Corna and Dario Sanna. The jury also awarded some special mentions: Letizia Calori and Giuseppe De Mattia (Open), Kim Sooun (Open), Lorenzo Ramos (Academy). With a total prize money of 12.000 euro divided between the two categories, Carapelli confirms concrete support for the visual arts, culture and artists, especially in a period of global difficulty. The works of the winning artists will become part of the Carapelli collection, furthermore Carapelli for Art will participate with a dedicated exhibition event in the context of ART CITY Bologna 2022. .
OPEN CATEGORY
Winners
Francesco Carone (Siena, 1975)
Core
2012, peach wood, blown glass bell from 1700, lacquered wood base. Core size 2.8x1.6x2 cm. Case size 33x16x55 cm. Photo Ela Bialkowska OKNOstudio
A hazel usually contains a story: years ago the artist ate a peach from the tree that his grandfather had in the garden, after having observed the hazel he decided to make it identical again starting from the wood of the same peach; identical in form and biological heritage but obviously unable to generate other trees. The work of Francesco Carone, through the use of sculpture in a way that is both current and traditional (drying, sculpting, inlay), approaches the theme - and the mystery - of the natural generation by placing it in a relationship of an interrogative type. with human observation and understanding: "The study, the time, the dedication, the skill of the hand, the coherence of the thought with which man has always faced what surrounds him, are obviously not enough." However, art has the power to arouse wonder in us, to ignite our curiosity, to stimulate us to ask ever new questions. The jury appreciated the ability to develop a rich and open reflection, starting from a basic form of nature.
Lia Cecchin (Feltre, Belluno, 1987)
OBE
2021, puzzle composition. Variable dimensions.
The OBE project involves the installation of a variable number of puzzles having natural landscapes as their subject. The objects are suspended in space without any protection, waiting to be 'activated' by accident. Taking a cue from various news events, in which a viewer damages a work by distraction in an attempt to take a selfie, the artist has devised a situation that facilitates the involuntary gesture and puts it at the centre of a broader reflection. The title is the acronym used to define the out-of-body experience. Cecchin writes about it: "The project provocatively invites the viewer to observe themselves from the outside and to think about how their lack of attention can reverberate their effects on others as well, perhaps irreversibly compromising their vision or experience." The jury rewards the work for the original link it establishes between image and sustainability, intelligently introducing the role of the community in the processes of construction and destruction of the landscape. The jury also appreciated the ways of the artist's intervention, able to escape to reveal the performative potential of the public and the real.
ACADEMY CATEGORY
Winners
Elena Della Corna (Vicenza, 1993)
Prophecy
2021, Plastic material composed of organic glue, pigments, natural thickeners and preservatives, metal chain, 60 × 80x25 cm + chain. Photo Giacomo Bianco
The shape of a suspended sculpture vaguely resembles that of a precision balance. But the reference is deviated, and the function of the object is not identifiable. Prophecy, which in the title suggests the search for an intimate and metaphysical dimension, is animated by subtle balances and low sculptural tensions. A reddish, rough, and accessible element rests on the glossy finishes of a precious instrument, evoking a magical and ritual environment. The jury appreciated the quality of the object, in particular the formal solutions and the treatment of the materials. He then found in the work a mystical and open mirror of the contingent theme proposed by the announcement.
Dario Sanna (Olbia, 1996)
Landscape (Marseille)
2021; Solar panel, bipolar cable, fan, stones, plant, plastic; variable dimensions
The work maiden by Dario Sanna is an interpretation, in some way emblematic, of a natural setting in which the artist found himself spending a few months: overlooking the Mediterranean of the city of Marseille. Some typical local elements, stones, and a plant, interact with objects linked to technology and human consumption, a solar panel, an obsolete computer fan, a plastic bag. When the sun penetrates into the room where the installation is located, it loads the panel that starts the fan, which in turn shakes the envelope; an explicit reference to the strong and harmful traces that a society that is not careful enough leaves in nature, damaging it. The jury appreciated the way in which the work draws attention to a current theme, without compromising the opportunity for an original and independent formal construction - the aspect of "adaptability" is also interesting, since the stones and plants used vary over time based on the context of exposure.
Honorable mentions
Letizia Calori and Giuseppe De Mattia (Bologna 1986; Bari, 1980)
Bolotie
2021, mixed media, diptych, 110 x 50 cm
Bolotie is a project that focuses on the reuse and upcycling of clothing. An item of clothing develops more economy than a car. Since it was first sold, if it enters the vintage clothing market, it continues to generate a market by regaining value and often multiplying it, thus continuing to generate a "clean" economy. Bolotie is a redevelopment project of the historic Montagnola second-hand market in Bologna. The project, conceived as a work of art and an urban intervention, is a first step towards a real redesign of the space that Bologna dedicates to the sale of used items. Since 1970, Montagnola has created a circular economy that has supported families, dressed generations and avoided wasting goods. Today the market is in crisis. There are fewer merchants interested in facing the cold of winter and the heat of summer and they are experiencing competition in the sector given the possibility of buying online at "apparently" cheaper prices. Furthermore, the architecturally precarious condition of the spaces dedicated to the market complicates the working situation of many sellers. Bolotie, proposes to move the area dedicated to the market inside the park, retracing the circularity of the shape of the park with the circularity of the goods. Bolotie will be a light and semi-permanent structure designed for the park spaces, consisting of a series of interconnected and energetically self-sufficient stands. The diptych, made with a juxtaposition of reused fabrics, drawings and notes on the project, shows the redistribution of the market spaces within the park (which takes the form of an Indian tie, hence the name Bolotie) and the architectural hypotheses for the construction of market stands. The prize, if awarded to us, will actively enter the circularity of the project by financing the production of the first stand prototype.
Sooun Kim (Jeju, South Corea, 1989)
Yellow Fever
2019, film, 00:13:22, 1920x1080
Yellow Fever is a short film that tells intersecting stories: that of Korean independence activists from historical record, the biography of Kim’s grandfather, and Kim's personal story, intertwined to create a new hybrid fiction by reconstructing subject and historical background via the mode of music video making. As a Korean artist, Kim digs into his national, cultural, and ethnic roots before addressing the pre-birth of hybridity and post-colonialism. This process is explored through various types of moving images with minimal sound. The film conveys a strong message of independence from “unconscious colonisation,” represented here by a silent fever, filled with both anxiety and calm.
Lorenzo Ramos (Milan,1994)
LANCE
2021 -2021 - Recycled wood, recycled plastic tips (HDPE, cast and processed in a laboratory in Bologna called BackBo, a laboratory that is part of a larger project called Preacius Plastic), double threaded screws and fine plastic cordage - Variable dimensions , from a minimum of 170 cm to a maximum of 190 cm height and from a minimum of 6 cm to a maximum of 10 cm width.
The harpoon as a prosthesis and enhancement has characterized part of the evolution and the drive to create that has always distinguished human work. The aptitude for inventing tools to bridge one's limits was therefore a cornerstone for the most disparate forms. My intervention wants to play with these ancestral ingredients using a mixture of ancient and modern materials. The recycled wood, which is the starting point, merges with the tips in recycled plastic, all tied with plastic cord and a double threaded screw. A primitive attitude reiterated up to the contemporary. A mythical element that underlies the redevelopment of the material.
