Swiss-based investment house Vontobel has awarded its art patronage prize «A New Gaze» for the fourth time. But in a new first, two artists will be given the prize, given both represent the many facets and depth of contemporary art.
Vontobel has supported the art world for years, particularly with its «A New Gaze» patronage award. The most recent prize was given to Emidio Battipaglia and Augustin Lignier as a way for the investment house to emphasize the role of innovative contemporary art and its role in society.
The Prize Winners
Battipaglia, born in Italy in 1984, is an interdisciplinary artist. He studied at the ECAL in Lausanne and photography at Napier University in Edinburgh. He currently lives and works in Milan.
Artist and award winner Emidio Battipaglia (Image: Art Vontobel / the artist)
French artist Lignier, born in 1995, graduated with a diploma in photography ECAL in Lausanne and at the Beaux-Arts de Paris. He is currently based in Paris.
Artist and award winner Augustin Lignier (Image: Art Vontobel / the artist)
The prize is given every two years and aims to support young, up-and-coming artists by offering them a platform to share their vision. Winners receive 20,000 francs in prize money and can display their work publicly, something that doesn't only help the artists but enriches Zurich's cultural landscape.
Plants and Artificial Intelligence
Installation by Emidio Battipaglia, «Synaptic Dialogues 11», 2024 (Image: Art Vontobel / the artist)
Battipaglia and Lignier represent the diversity and depth of contemporary art. Battipaglia's «Synaptic Dialogues» installation is an attempt to fascinate the observer as an AI-based interactive installation with plants that explores the relationship between people, nature, and technology.
New and Unexpected Images
Work by Augustin Lignier, «Wink Piece» 2024 (Image: Art Vontobel / the artist)
The technology captures the reactions of plants to temperature changes, movement, and human noise, projecting new and unexpected images in real-time.
Battipaglias work invites us to think about the role of technology in a sustainable future and asks us to be conscious of the importance of collective action.
A Quick Wink
Lignier's project «Wink Piece» is a social experiment related to non-verbal communication. By winking at passersby on the streets of Paris, he is eliciting reaction and interaction, ranging from outright rejection to tacit agreement.
The interactions have been preserved in an installation and are a document of his findings. What started as a playful exercise grew into a deep social experiment.
Lignier's work offers a perspective on the subtle dynamics of human interaction and questions the meaning of community and communication in today's digitalized world.
A Platform for Societally Relevant Art
The exhibition located at Gotthardstrasse 43 in Zurich will be open to the public from 23 May and it will not only display the work of the two winners, but Vontobel's interpretation of the set themes.
This year's prize focused on the concept of community and it reflects our constant examination of key societal questions while showing how art can help us look at them, discuss and interpret them in a new and different way.
Success and Recognition
The widespread interest in the exhibition is an indication of the relevance and quality of the work being put on display. By putting them on display, Vontobel is underlining the importance of art as a mirror and motor in society as a whole.
The awards given to Battipaglia and Lignier not only underline artistic excellence but also their ambition to tackle the important issues of our time innovatively.
Outlook and Dialogue
The exhibition runs until 31 August 2024 and a discussion will be held with the artists on June 7.
- More information is available at the following Link.
Art Vontobel Contemporary Photography Prize
The Art Vontobel Collection currently counts over 250 works by photographers from all over the world. «A New Gaze» is a sponsorship prize for young, contemporary photography that was first awarded in 2017. The prize is given every two years, enabling an international artist to realize a project on each occasion—from concept to exhibition, including an accompanying publication. Candidates submit projects aimed at promoting and conveying alternative views of the world around us. Each award has focuses on a specific them, starting with «Security/Insecurity» and then «Identity», «Responsibility in the Anthropocene» and «Community». The winners receive 20,000 francs, a public exhibition and an art publication.
