With the winners’ announcement, the thirteenth edition of the Combat Prize , international contemporary art competition created by cultural association Blob Art, in co-partnership with the Municipality of Livorno, with the support of the Fondazione di Livorno and the publishing house Sillabe together with the partner Opera Laboratori, as well as Poliart, a leading manufacturer of expanded polystyrene, ended on Saturday October 8.
The judging panel, composed of Ilaria Gianni, Francesca Baboni, Lorenzo Balbi, Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri, Stefano Taddei, elected winner of Combat Prize, new for this thirteenth edition worth ten-thousand-euro Caterina Morigi with the work Cratere, with the following motivation: “For being able to represent, in her artwork, a true act of reformulation, capable of offering a new narration on things, materials and classic models, continuing a coherent and in-depth research on the unexplored possibilities of matter and experimenting with the encounter between clay, natural forms and volcanic lava.”
For the Painting section, the judging panel assigned the ex-aequo prize to Noemi Durighello with her work Daydream, with the following motivation: “Color in shape of still-life, that re-actualises a genre according to a light-hearted and lyrical accent, tinged with a contemporary operational urgency. An introspective painting that unfolds freely on the canvas, where even the apparent mistake in the drafting reveals great vision for a painting modernly feminine and metaphysical.”
For the painting session, the judging panel also awarded, with the ex-aequo prize, Matteo Messori for the artwork The jawbone of Cain with the following motivation: “An artwork that demonstrates a decisive ability to bring together the power of painting with a sculptural three-dimensionality. Clinging semantically to a literary reference, and playing on the ambiguity of a thought that becomes a monument.”
For the Photography section, the judging panel declared Giulia Bernardi the winner with the work Dinosaur, with the following motivation: “Giulia Bernardi's photograph, Dinosaur, is striking for its apparently minimal yet at the same time poetic, interpreting a tangle of vegetation as a casual apparition, a dinosaur at the foot of a large tree. The image subtends the idea of a small epiphany, of an incursion of an extra-human extra-human dimension into ordinary time, without losing its aspect of a visual note, of a fragment taken from everyday life.”
For the Graphic section, the judging panel awarded Guido Ravanelli for the artwork Self-portrait at Eurospin with the following motivation: “The effectiveness of Guido Ravanelli's Self-portrait at the Eurospin lies in its ability to confront the observer with assertiveness and immediacy. It is a self-portrait translated into a residual object, banal, one of those objects that remain in trouser pockets at the end of a day; a self-portrait that speaks of a self that is an 'everyday us', an us waiting to be served at a supermarket counter. The image, tinged with pop reminiscences, takes on a lyrical, vaguely melancholic tone, suspending that simple object against a uniform, sky-blue pastel background.”
The judging panel declared Arianna Ferreri the winner for the Sculpture/Installation section, with the work Ri-suono, with the following motivation: “An evocative ability at once disturbing and suggestive. For the great ability to create a re-sound that refers to the incessant noise of a purely mechanical sound that clashes with the fragility and delicacy of porcelain, creating a short circuit, wins the installation section with the work 're-sound' Arianna Ferreri.”
Finally, for the Video section, the jury awarded the prize to Anouk Laure Chambaz with the work Marica, with the following motivation: “For the time she devotes to observing, investigating and listening to the subject portrayed. The gaze of Anouk Laure Chambaz traverses stories, memories and imaginaries to render a narrative-contemplative vision that dwells on fragile and marginal elements, made up of suspensions and successive surprises. His video works accompany the viewer in an exploration of a space in which the representation of reality leaves ample room for the oneiric dimension. Chambaz invites us to decentralise our anthropocentric viewpoint, reminding us how we need to multiply our perspectives to connect with nature and its inhabitants, their stories and needs, in a correspondence of senses. The artist's work, in a balance of conceptual, poetic and political forces at the same time, shakes the gaze and consciousness through the perspective of the imaginary.”
The awarding of the Gallery Prize, a special prize born from the new collaboration with the seven leading contemporary galleries and the independent SAC contemporary art space in Livorno, consists in the realisation of an exhibition project in their spaces in the 2023 season, thus giving continuity to the confrontation opened during the participation in the Award:
The Add-art gallery in Spoleto selected Andrea Ceddia as its winner.
The Romanian gallery IAGA contemporary Art, based in Cluj, awarded the prize to Francesco Fossati.
Labs Gallery in Bologna awarded the prize to Noemi Durighello.
The Lunetta 11 gallery in Borgo Lunetta, Cuneo, declared Lorenzo Modica the winner.
For the Magazzeno gallery in Ravenna, the winner was Xinhan Yu.
The Venetian gallery Marina Bastianello Gallery awarded the prize to Meghan Shawnee Littlewood.
The Matèria Gallery in Rome awarded the prize to artist Marilisa Cosello.
Finally, the independent SAC contemporary art space in Livorno selected as the winner Camilla Gurgone.
The Poliart prize was awarded to Filippo Tappi. The Poliart company, a leader in the polystyrene foam, will support the production of a new work by the artist.
Finally, the Popular Jury Prize, awarded on the basis of the preferences expressed by the participating public participants, is awarded to Gianni Lucchesi with the work The Golfer.