Silvia Giambrone wins eighth VAF Award for best artist under 40

Silvia Giambrone (Agrigento, 1981) is the winning artist of the eighth edition of the VAF Prize, awarded annually by the German foundation VAF-Stiftung to the best Italian artist under 40. The award to Giambrone was decreed by the jury composed of VAF Foundation President Klaus Wolbert and Volker Feierabend, Daniela Ferrari, Lorand Hegyi, Silvia Hoeller, and Marion Piffer Damiani. One of his works will be acquired by the Foundation and become part of the VAF Collection, on long-term permanent deposit at the Mart in Rovereto. In addition, the artist will be awarded a cash prize of 15,000 euros. The Jury then also awarded two honorable mentions, to Emanuele Giuffrida and Michele Parisi, for the high artistic value of the works presented in the exhibition. Both are to receive 5 thousand euros.

For the awarding of the Prize, explains the Scientific Committee of the VAF Foundation, it is based on democratic principles: that is, without any preferences dictated by dogmatism or towards what is considered a priori revolutionary, current or spectacular, and neither on the basis of what the work should contain in aesthetic or thematic terms in order to fall within a canon or normative dictate. “Preference is given,” the organizers of the prize explain, “to an open and unprejudiced look at the full range of ideas proposed by the artists, which certainly does not exclude a rigorously analytical and critical judgment, based on professional expertise, theoretical knowledge, differential comparison, experience and thoughtful reflection. Attempts are made to establish an open and receptive dialogue with the creators of the works, rather than stepping into the role of authoritarian judges, not least because, in many cases, what on a first visit may still appear uninteresting, on closer examination, including through conversation with the author, reveals its own acuity, distinctiveness and originality. As a result, the evaluations that VAF delegates are inevitably required to formulate and justify are never subject to personal preference, nor even to the tyranny of subjective taste. The Foundation is particularly concerned with this aspect, since artists who are subjected to evaluation procedures have the right that their personal artistic intention be recognized and interpreted as competently as possible.”

The works of the 2019 VAF Prize finalists are on display at the Mart in Rovereto until May 12, while from June 14 to September 1 they will be exhibited at the Stadtgalerie in Kiel, Germany. In Rovereto, the Prize is part of a major exhibition project dedicated to the VAF Collection, from Feb. 23 to Sept. 8, 2019. With Passion, an exhibition in constant transformation, the Mart returns to subvert the canonical order of the exhibition tradition, proposing a path in stages that surprises the visitor. More information can be found on the Mart’s website.

Pictured: Silvia Giambrone, Under Fire (2013; color video projection, duration 5’02")

Silvia Giambrone wins eighth VAF Award for best artist under 40

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