Qiu's Photo Work Sought After By China's Contemporary Photography Collectors#
This Thursday, the international art community is set to convene at New York's Guggenheim Museum for the awarding of the
Hugo Boss Prize#
. Judged by a global panel of curators, museum directors and art critics, the prestigious award carries with it a prize of US$100,000 and a solo show at the Guggenheim. Previously awarded to artists like Matthew Barney (1996), Pierre Huyghe (2002), Rirkrit Tiravanija (2004), Tacita Dean (2006), and Hans-Peter Feldmann (2010), the honor has yet to be won by a Chinese artist, though three -- Cai Guo-Qiang in 1996, Huang Yong Ping in 1998, and Yang Fudong in 2004 -- have previously been nominated.
This year, however, China may finally see its first winner, as multi-media artist
Qiu Zhijie#
is on this year's shortlist.
Other artists in the running for the award include Trisha Donnelly (USA), Rashid Johnson (USA), Monika Sosnowska (Poland), Danh Vo (Vietnam), and Tris Vonna-Michell (UK). As the award sets no restrictions on age, gender, nationality or medium, the shortlisted artists run the gamut from up-and-coming to -- as in Qiu's case -- highly established. The shortlist was recently announced by Richard Armstrong, Director, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, and Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, Chairman and CEO, HUGO BOSS AG.
According to Artlyst, this year's jury is chaired by Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, with jurors including Magali Arriola (Curator, Colección Jumex, Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico); Suzanne Cotter (Curator, Abu Dhabi Project, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation); Kate Fowle (Executive Director, Independent Curators International, New York); Nat Trotman (Associate Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum); and Theodora Vischer (Senior Curator at Large, Fondation Beyeler, Basel).
Based in Beijing and Hangzhou, Qiu Zhijie boasts one of the most diverse portfolios of any Chinese contemporary artist who gained prominence in the 1990s, encompassing sculpture, painting, printmaking, video, photography, and performance. His work has previously been shown in solo exhibitions at Haus der Kulturen del Welt in Berlin, UCCA in Beijing, the Guangdong Museum of Art and Macau's Fundação Oriente, as well as group shows at the Guggenheim, the Fukuoka Triennial, and Centro de arte Tomás y Valiente, Madrid. A seasoned curator, Qiu has most recently worked as chief curator of the 9th Shanghai Biennale (October 2, 2012 - March 13, 2013).
For updates on the Hugo Boss Prize 2012, follow @Guggenheim and #HBP2012 on Twitter. We'll be sure to update after the award ceremony is held on November 1.
