curated by Valerio Dehò

Art Prize

Barbara Behan Gallery, London
January 14 to February 14 2004

DE AGOSTINI RIZZOLI Catalogue
 
 

Press Release
 
 
 

Barbara Behan in cooperation with Italian group Elica SpA requests the pleasure of your company at the private view of the Ermanno Casoli International Art Prize. The award is named in honour of Elica SpA's founder who demonstrated a commitment to the vision that industry's duty is to share the knowledge, culture and experience it has gathered in the world's marketplaces, working together with institutions to create cultural events to further intellectual growth. Invitation to the Future marks the exhibition's sixth year and its first time to be hosted outside Italy, thus reflecting the international nature of Elica's scope and the artists who are invited to contribute. 

Each year emerging international artists of varying disciplines are invited to interpret a specific theme. This year Invitation to the Future invites 12 artists working in Photography, Video Art, Digital and Electronic Art, Sculpture and Painting to explore the notion of technology as being omnipresent when considering art of future generations. 

Invitation to the Future centres around the discourse of Art and the discourse of Technology in a visually over-driven culture. This dual alliance has immense implications today as we witness two conceptually powerful forces at work - the convergence of digital media and the simultaneous collapse of discipline boundaries. It is the combination of these two tendencies which is fuelling the emergence of lateral and hybrid cultural forms.

The exhibition explores the boundaries of our current understanding of perception showcasing exemplars of innovative use of technologies that are enhanced by the artist's abilities to visualise the invisible, help us unravel the real from the virtual and explore the moments in between. Works that will effectively challenge audiences' perceptions of their perceptions.

The winning artists receive a financial award and donate their works to a museum in Serra San Quirico, home to Elica SpA's headquarters.  This year winners are: Carlo Bernardini, Ottmer Kiefer and Giacomo Costa.
Other featured artists: Luisa Raffaelli, Max Rohr, Robert Gligorov, Matteo Basilè, Luca Lumaca, Mario Volpi, Karin Andersen, 
Stefano Cagol and Salis & Vitangeli.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by De Agostini-Rizzoli. 

For further information/images please contact Barbara Behan on 020 7821 8793 or info@barbarabehan.com

Sponsored by Vodafone, Banca Popolare di Ancona, iGuzzini, De Agostini-Rizzoli arte&cultura, MONTE SCHIAVO and Elica SpA

Private view Wednesday 14th January 6.30 to 9.30pm
Talk by Francesco Casoli, CEO Elica Group, at 7.00pm 
Open 14 January to 14 February 2004
 

Barbara Behan, Contemporary Art , 50 Moreton Street, London SW1V 2PB 
T/F + 44 (0) 20 7821 8793, www.barbarabehan.com

Open Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm or by appointment.