Amateur

1 June, 2018 - 28 October, 2018

MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE, MAXXI, Rome

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Amateur

Established with the aim to promote the growth of the younger generation of artists, the 2018 Premio MAXXI has now reached its ninth edition as it evolves into the MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE. Several changes have been introduced this year, starting from the remarkable partnership with maison Bvlgari, which works side by side with the museum in its outstand- ing efforts to support and promote emerging artists, investing in culture and the future of art. With an eye on both theItalian and the international scenario, for the first time ever candidates for the award may include artists from outside of Italy. The choice of the finalists and the winner is up to a jury that includes some of the most influential names in the field of contemporary art: David Elliott, Independent Curator, Yuko Hasegawa, Artistic Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director of Serpentine Galleries, London, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, Director MAXXI Arte, and Hou Hanru, Artistic Director of Fondazione MAXXI. An honorary committee including Giovanna Melandri, President of Fondazione MAXXI, Jean Christophe Babin, CEO for the Bulgari Group, the Oscar-winning filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore will contribute to valorizing the image of this prize in the world.

The artists who are in the running for the MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE 2018 are TaliaChetrit (Washington, D.C., 1982), Invernomuto (Simone Bertuzzi, Piacenza, 1983, Simone Trabucchi, Piacenza, 1982), and Diego Marcon (Busto Arsizio, 1985). In Galleria 4, the exhibition is mounted so that it is fluid and immersive, leading to the discovery of the finalists’ unpublished or recently produced works.

The exhibition opens with the immersion in the work of Invernomuto, whose workincludes a film, a sound installation, a sculpture and a fragrance, for a mixture of languages that characterizes their artistic research. In a space cloaked in semi-darkness the focal point is a large shaped screen on which the filmCalendoola: SURUS (2018) is projected in a loop. The room is also filled with high and low frequencies, a fragrance reminiscent of the Far East, and Z0a, a work made out of the original 1990 Replicante by Mimmo Rotella. Moving along a deliberately essential path, the exhibition continues with Ludwig (2018) by Diego Marcon. The first work by the artist consisting entirely of CGI (computer- generated imagery), the film is set inside a ship tossed by a storm at sea. Belowthe deck, at the mercy of a storm, a child wearing a blue sweater and a yellow polo is holding a lighted match, and singing a song that is interrupted as soonas the flame starts to burn his fingers.

The scene arouses a feeling of empathy, annoyance, and irony vis-à-vis the young protagonist’s suffering, recalling the spirit of our time. Depending on the path chosen by the visitor, Amateur(2018), the group of photographs and video presented by Talia Chetrit, eitheropens or closes the MAXXI BVLGARI PRIZE exhibition with a project arranged in three rooms. By exploring themes like the spontaneity of the subject before thecamera, the boundary between public and private sphere, Chetrit is often herselfthe protagonist of these representations, just as her partner, friends, and family members are the subject here. A study of the control mechanisms and the alteration in the reality inherent to the photographic medium is at the heart of the research of this artist, who experiences its power on her body, choosing how much to show of her own intimate and private dimension.

The winner of the ninth edition will be announced on October 13, 2018, and on the occasion of the Awards Ceremony an exhibition catalogue dedicated to the three finalists will be presented as well. The work made by the winner will be acquiredby MAXXI, joining its permanent collection.