On May 14, 2016, the first “Wang Shikuo Award” &?TAM Exhibition of Nominated Chinese Contemporary Young Artists held a grand opening ceremony & award ceremony at the Today Art Museum. New media artist Tian Xiaolei won the prize, Secretary-General of Wang Shikuo Foundation Wang Qun and Director of Today Art Museum Gao Peng awarded the artist the trophy and certificate.

On the opening day, TAM Exhibition of Nominated Chinese Contemporary Young Artists opened at the same time, to showcase the art creation by 10 short-listed artists, including Guo Donglai,?Huang Zhitao,?Lin Feifei, Liu Xianghua,?Li Rui, Shang Chengxiang,?Shi Fu, Tian Xiaolei, Wu Juehui,?Zhang Fan, covering easel painting, sculpture, installation, multimedia video. Director of Today Art Museum Gao Peng said that, “It is different from previous young art exhibitions as the Wang Shikuo Award pays attention to the all-round art features of the artists who continuously adhere to creating over the past 5 or 10 years, rather than to focus on the special work participating in a game.” Through the presentation of a decade of creative growth they are able to foresee their futures and brings them to the horizon of the public, in order to encourage them to continue to challenge their own limits, and constantly to improve, revise and break through themselves; the organizers will continue to give these artists the resources and opportunities, to inspire them to inherit the spirit of the older generation of artists represented by Wang Shikuo.

At 3:00 pm, the opening ceremony & award ceremony of “Wang Shikuo Award” &?TAM Exhibition of Nominated Chinese Contemporary Young Artists kicked off in the main hall of 2/F,?Building No.1 Today Art Museum, the final jury consists of seven expert judges including Director of Today Art Museum Gao Peng, Director of Wang Shikuo Foundation, CEO of Sino Credit Corporation Yang Dayong, Director of Beijing Minsheng Art Museum Zhou Xujun, Director?of Pace Beijing Leng Lin, famous artist Xiang?Jing and well-known international curator Huang Du, in addition to the public judges which are constituted of 9?winners of the successive?Wang Shikuo Scholarship. At the opening ceremony, the ten candidates firstly introduced their personal creative ideas and artistic experiences, and then the judges voted according to the works and the individual introduction. Eventually, the new media artist Tian Xiaolei stood out with his works of video “Creation”, “Poetry”, and won the “Wang Shikuo Award”.

After the award ceremony, Tian Xiaolei was interviewed by the journalist from CAFA ART INFO, he said that he chose to use digital media as a medium for his artistic creation and his works were more inclined to express “the relations between science and technology and the process of evolution in the future, and to accelerate the evolution of form of the unknown new species during hybridization.” As the winner of “Wang Shikuo Award”, Tian Xiaolei’s solo exhibition will be officially held this month at Today Art Museum. He graduated from CAFA and majored in Digital Media, Tian Xiaolei has insisted on artistic creation for nearly 10 years, “My parents often challenge my job, but choosing art as a career is a very lucky thing for me.” Tian Xiaolei said, “Thanks to the Wang Shikuo Foundation and Today Art Museum, as well as the recognition and encouragement of the judges, it makes me more determined in my road of art.”

Text by Lin Jiabin, Photo by Lin Jiabin & Today Art Museum

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO

About the Exhibition

Title: “Wang Shikuo Award” &?TAM Exhibition of Nominated Chinese Contemporary Young Artists

Hosts: Today Art Museum, Wang Shikuo Foundation

Artists: Guo Donglai,?Huang Zhitao,?Lin Feifei, Liu Xianghua,?Li Rui,?Tian Xiaolei,?Shi Fu,?Shang Chengxiang,?Wu Juehui,?Zhang Fan

Duration:?May?14 –?June 26, 2016

Venue:?3/F,?4/F,?Building No.1 Today Art Museum