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Opening Ceremony | MEDUSA, La Gorgone

"MEDUSA, La Gorgone"

2024 Livorno Medusa Art Prize


Location: Villa Trossi, Via Giuseppe Ravizza, 76, 57128, Livorno, Italy

Date: 12/07/2024 - 25/07/2024

Official Press of the Exhibition by Livorno Comune:


HOST

ISOLART GALLERY

LA FONDAZIONE D'ART TROSSI-UBERTI

ASSOCIAZIONE NAZIONALE DI BELLE ART D'ITALIA

ASSOCIAZIONE NOMYA


COOPERATING INSTITUTIONS

REGIONE TOSCANA

COMUNE DI LIVORNO

MUCCHI INTERNATIONAL CULTURE AND ART MANAGEMENT LTD

TOSCANA TV

AUGUSTA S.R.L.S.

SACHSEN GMBH FÜR DIE SÄCHSISCHE WIRTSCHAFT IN CHINA

DEYING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CO., LTD

BEIJING HUIFENGYUNYI CULTUEW CO.,LTD

LORY DIGITAL FINE ART


CURATORS

Yuanqi Cao

Rossella Tesi

Xue Rui


JURY

Valentino Moradei Gabbrielli

(Academic of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno di Firenze/

Continuator of a Florentine sculptors' workshop, the "Bottega Fantacchiotti-Gabbrielli")

Giandomenico Semeraro

Vice President of Florence Academy of Fine Arts)

Rossella Tesi

(Curator, President of Nomya Cultural Association, Italy)

Huizhong Ren

Director of the Chinese Painting Teaching and Research Section, Department of Fine Arts, Military Culture College, National Defense University of

the Chinese People's Liberation Army

Ming Zhong

Professor of Chinese Painting Department, Hubei Academy of Fine Arts

Chongzheng Tan

(Vice President of Hubei Provincial Academy of Chinese Painting)

Lingyi Wang

(Dean of the School of Art Education, Hubei Academy of Fine Arts)


Artisti Partecipanti

Stefania Balestri - Stefano Borghi - Riccardo Biondi & Alessandra Jane - Ze Bai - Changrong Chen - Jian Cao - Naihui Chen - Kirio Cho - Maria Christide - Taylor Chyn - Zongyou Chen - Guiyan Fu  -

RichFree Monica Frisone - Yuxuan Feng - Asiia Gabdullina - Erica Gariboldi - Ilvio Gallo - Xiaoya Gao - Nicoletta Grassani - Sophie Dezhao Jin - Susu Jing - Xiaoyan Jin - Jenny Ping Lam Lin - Jianbin Liu -

Mingrui Li - Mengzhu Li - Amanda Liang - Francesca Nev - Silvia Noferi  - Roberto Pupi & Carlo Cantini - Duccio Ricciardelli - Alessandro Secci  - Giovanna Sparapani - Diweilong Shi - Francesco Niccoli Stultus - Giovanna Sparapani - Natalia Shabai - Shijia Song - Chao Sun - Charles Chao Wang - Walter Puppo -

Qian Wan - Qiuxin Wang - Kongbin Wang - Senlin Wang - Xinyuan Wu - Yiru Wang  - Guangzheng Wang - Yunhao Xie - Changcheng Yang - Hui Yang - Yuhan Yang - Yumeng Yang - Hui Zhu - Ningxin Zhang - Yi Zeng - Xiaolu Zheng & Jinxiu Chen - Hongbo Zhi



On July 12, 2024, the "MEDUSA, la Gorgone" Art Prize Exhibition, which is highly anticipated by the international art community, was grandly opened at the beautiful Villa Trossi Uberti Art Foundation headquarters in Livorno. The exhibition, organized by ISOLART GALLERY, the Italian "Trossi-Uberti" Art Foundation, sponsored by the Tuscany Region of Italy, the Livorno Municipal Government of Italy, the Italian National Fine Arts Association, the Italian NOMYA Cultural Development Association and other institutions, brought together outstanding artists, art teams and promising emerging artists from all over the world. The opening ceremony that night was crowded with visitors, and art lovers and professionals from all over the world gave rave reviews and praised it. The heads of many art institutions and media such as Tuscany TV, Livorno City Museum, Florence International Exhibition Center, Florence Academy of Art, Florence Academy of Fine Arts and Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan attended the opening ceremony and expressed their warm congratulations. Representative of the organizers, curator Cao Yuanqi and co-curators Rossella Tesi and Rui Xue delivered speeches, appreciating these institutions and participating artists for their sincere support for the exhibition. Their involvement enhanced the exhibition's visual appeal, expanded the scope of artistic expression, facilitated more seamless creative collaboration, and offered visitors a more comprehensive and enriching artistic experience.



The exhibition offers a valuable opportunity for artists to showcase their work and engage in productive dialogue, fostering collaboration and integration within the Italian and international art community. Curator Yuanqi Cao has mentioned that the theme of this exhibition is to explore and analyse the taboos of temptation and to break through conventional boundaries. The artists have engaged deeply with philosophical topics, including vision, identity and self-awareness, prompting reflection on real-world issues such as stereotypes, social exclusion and the construction of identity. This has led to a discussion on how individuals can find and define their position in cultural and mythological structures. The exhibition has enabled participating artists to exchange creative experiences, explore new directions for the development of art, and further promote the development of contemporary art.



The exhibition has presented the artworks of 55 international artists from Italy, China, France, Great Britain, the United States of America and Eastern Europe, among many other countries and regions. and its theme is indexed by the controversial hybridised mythological figure of Medusa, which prompts the artists to reflect on and explore a range of topics derived from mythological themes, fantastical creatures, identities and fugures, and the situation of gender. The concept of oppression, demonisation and objectification inherent in the mythological narrative of Medusa, a human-animal hybrid, is not only a mysterious and eerie stimulus in the present day but also a mythological reflection on the status quo of society in the context of contemporary art. (cited from Rui Xue (2024). Hybrid Mythological Images in Italian Renaissance Art and Contemporary Mythological Narratives).



This exhibition aims to showcase and honor artists who have made outstanding contributions in the field of contemporary art, showcasing a range of exceptional works from various artistic disciplines, including painting, sculpture, installation art and photography. These artworks represent the cutting-edge exploration and diverse expression of contemporary art, and fully demonstrate the innovative spirit and outstanding talent of the artists. The jury has selected 15 outstanding artists from the 55 longlisted artists to receive the shortlisted prize, bestowed honorary prizes upon some artists, and the final Grand Prize was presented to Maria Christide.



Maria's photography is inspired by the tragic story of Medusa being raped by Poseidon and transformed into a Gorgon monster by Athena in ancient Greek mythology. Her work focuses on discussing insightful contemporary feminist topics. Her photography effectively conveys the complex emotions of intense pain and struggle through the use of ambiguous images.


Maria Christide with curators in front of her photography "Medusa"


MEDIA SUPPORT

Flash Art

Frieze

Vogue

Elle

Harper's Bazaar

Tuscany TV

People's Daily Europe

Artron Art

People's Fine Arts


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