Source： Artron.net exclusive
The ceremony of the 8th Award of Art China • Most Influential People of 2013, co-organized by Artron Culture Group, Artron Art Foundation and Artron.net with special sponsorship from the Riverside Group, was held on May 23, 2014, inside the Cining Palace of the Palace Museum in Beijing. Established in 2006, Award of Art China (AAC) is a witness of the tremendous development of Chinese contemporary art in the past eight years, and has become an important platform of academic credibility for promoting excellent artists, artwork, as well as art exhibitions and events.
The ceremony was hosted by renowned TV presenter, Ms. Yang Lan, and attended by an array of celebrities and industry heavyweights. Guests include Shan Jixiang (Director of the Palace Museum), Wong Kar-wai (celebrated film director), Ren Kelei (Chairman of the Shenzhen OCT Contemporary Art Terminal), Wan Jie (Chairman of Artron Culture Group), Fan Di’an (Director of the National Art Museum of China), Pan Gongkai (Director of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts), Zhu Qingsheng (Professor at the Beijing University, President of the 8th AAC Judging Committee), Zhang Xiaomei (President of the Riverside Group), Vivienne Tam (international fashion designer), auction expert Hu Yanyan, Wen Guihua and Zhaoxu, artists JinShangyi, Xu Bing, Ye Yongqing, Cui Xiuwen, Tan Ping and LvShengzhong, collectors QiuHaoran, Zheng Hao, Qiaozhibing and Tangju, as well as curators and critics such as Karen Smith, Wang Huangsheng, Pi Li, Huang Zhuan and PhilipTinari. Over 600 extinguished guests were joined by all of AAC judges, nominees and winners at the Palace Museum in this grand celebration of art. The historical Forbidden City dazzled with contemporary spirit in the convergence of East and West, old and new.
Art Publication of the Year: Complete Collection of Yuan Dynasty Paintings
Artist of the Year – Sculpture: Shi Hui
Artist of the Year – Oil Painting: Su Xinping
Young Artist of the Year: Sun Xun
Artist of the Year – Calligraphy: Bao Xianlun
Artist of the Year – Ink Painting: Liu Qinghe
Art Exhibition of the Year: “Autonomous Regions” contemporary art exhibition
Artist of the Year – Multimedia Installation: Xie Deqing
Artist of the Year – Photography: Wang Guofeng
Curator of the Year: Li Xu
Special Contribution Award: Xin Dongwang
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jin Shangyi
Art Plus Award: BMW (art event: 2013 “BMW A Journey into Chinese Culture”)
(Art Plus Award winner selected by thousands of online voters)
Regarded as “The Year of Contemporary Ink”, 2013 saw the emergence of an exceptional group of ink artists and artwork, while the rapid development of China’s economic presence attracted more global attention to Chinese contemporary art and contemporary ink. A pioneer in this unique genre, artist Liu Qinghe is known for using ink to depict the contemporary China, to contemplate on the times and to preserve this ancient art medium. Through his iconic images of a northern Chinese youths, he accentuates the pressure of a consumerist society that’s felt by the younger generation. Meanwhile, by intentionally deconstructing the traditional art-making methods, he creates a set of idiosyncratic artistic expressions. It is such artistic excellence that made him stand out amongst his fellow ink artists, winning the Artist of the Year – Ink Painting award.
One of the biggest highlights of the night was artist Xin Dongwang winning the award of Special Contribution. A leading figure of China’s New Realism oil painting, Xin’s bold and critical works shine with humanism and lend the audiences an insight into the contemporary society and people. As a prolific artist and a devoted educator of oil painting, Xin has contributed tremendously to the development of China’s oil painting, making his passing a huge loss to the art community. His wife, Mrs. Zhang Hongfang, accepted the award on his behalf at the ceremony.
Entertainment of the ceremony was brought by Retouramont dance troupe from France. In addition, this year, Artron continues to carry out its charity art projects for children living in the remote regions of China, including donating e-readers with art education content to schools in rural areas. At the ceremony Wan Jie, Li Ji (Chairman of the Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation), Shi Jinlong (Officer at the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation) and Zhou Qiong (Chief Secretary of the Sun Culture Foundation) donated “Artron Art Libraries” to the schools on behalf of their organizations in hopes that the donations will help provide these under-privileged students with opportunities to receive art education and ignite their interest and passion for art.
The current edition of the AAC has launched the “AAC Monthly Observations Reports”, which aim to assure the equity of the judging process. Starting from 2013, every month Artron.net has been compiling information on art events that have taken place, producing monthly reports in both hard-copy and digital forms. These reports are kept in an archive and can be easily accessed by the AAC judges and the art industry professionals.
The judging process is a major indicator of the level of equality and transparency, and hugely affects the credibility of the awards. “It is surely important who we select as winners, but how we select them is more importantly,” explains Zhu Qingsheng. “In the past editions of AAC, much of our attention and efforts were invested in the final round of selection, because each award had 10 nominees and only one winner, giving us a lot of options and room for consideration. Naturally, a lot of the work we did in the nominating around could be overshadowed the following process of picking the winner. Therefore this year, we strived to enhance the concentration level of our nomination, which would speed up the final selection. The efforts of the nominators are reflected in the limited number of nominees, and that’s what we’ve been working to achieve.”
The theme of the 8th AAC is “Gradual Clarity”. In this edition, every nominator selects nominees in their own categories, based on the general guideline of improving the state of Chinese contemporary art. “Setting up multiple categories in our awards is our acknowledgement of the multiple facets of the art world. In the meantime, we aspire to break through our own limitations and to make decisions that can reflect the humanistic and creative natures of art,” says Zhu.
This year, the AAC has set up the Nomination Award. Three nominees in each award category were chosen to be given this award, and will received in-depth and extensive attention from Artron. In the afternoon of May 23, the Nomination Award winners were revealed in the Palace Museum’s Jiang Fu Gong Garden. Zhu shared his thoughts during the event: “This year, all of our awards focus on contemporary art. The 8th edition has a more complex judging process compared to past editions, and there’s one additional press conference. Each extra step is we asking the big question one extra time. People probably can’t imagine how heated the discussions could go amongst judges during the judging process. Every award winner we have picked is an exceptional individual, but the nominees are also excellent artists, therefore we came up with the idea of the Nomination Award. Winners of this award will receive a lot of attention and media exposure on Artron.net in the following year, similar to the exposure enjoyed by AAC Award winners.
The judging process of the 8th AAC started in December 2013. The nomination and final selection took six months, and involved the participation of over 100 industry heavyweights as judges. Objectivity and equity played a pivotal role in the entire process, making the awards ever more credible and special. The AAC Organizing Committee thinks that the evolution of the AAC is more significant than the award results. The Committee plans on strengthening the judging panel by inviting more celebrated individuals from the art community and other industries to join the lineup. Through cultivating a predominantly academic judging process, the AAC hopes to become the epitome of Chinese mainstream art and the Academy Awards of the art.
Founded in 2006 by Artron.net, world’s biggest online portal of Chinese art, Award of Art China • Most Influential People of the Year (aka AAC) is an annual award co-organized by leading figures in the art world and supported by over 100 media outlets. With its goal in academic cultivation and the involvement of art professionals and enthusiasts, the award discovers and analyzes Chinese artists, art events and the art market on a yearly basis. An important platform for the promotion of extinguished Chinese artists, art work and art projects, the AAC aspires to be the ultimate award for Chinese art.
Using media coverage and academic excellence as major criteria while boasting an extensive, scientific and objective evaluation system, AAC chronicles the trajectory of Chinese contemporary art’s development with precision and expertise, establishing itself as a definitive voice in the art and culture industry. AAC events are instrumental in enhancing the appreciation of mainstream Chinese art and recognition of Chinese culture domestically and overseas, as well as the objective and in-depth understanding of the current status of Chinese art in the global art market.
