May 12th, 2012, Beijing — Jointly organized by Today Art Museum and Martell Art Fund, the award ceremony for “2012 Focus on Talents” as well as the shortlisted exhibition were held at Today Art Museum. The shortlisted exhibition will open to the public from May 13th to May 27th. Judging committee members Chen Danqing, Lv Peng, Karen Smith, Tan Ping, Wu Hongliang and Xu Lei, as well as Zhang Zikang, Director of Today Art Museum, and Kathie Wang, Communications Director of Pernod Ricard (China), were amongst the attendees.

                                                      

As China’s first non-profit, non-governmental art museum in China, Today Art Museum has been cultivating talented young artists and promoting the contemporary art development in the long term. Founded in 2007, Martell Art Fund upholds the spirit of Martell, the famous French cognac brand, which has long been supporting the art world. The cooperation between Martell Art Fund and Today Art Museum to launch “Focus on Talents” is aimed at continuously promoting the development of Chinese contemporary art and outstanding young art talents.

The judging committee of “2012 Focus on Talents” is composed of a team of professional judges, who are responsible for the recommendation and selection of talents. The judges participating in the selection include Fan Di’an, Director of National Art Museum of China, artist Chen Danqing, curator Huang Zhuan, curator and critic Lv Peng, curator Karen Smith, Tan Ping, artist and Vice President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Wu Hongliang, artist and the curator of Beijing Academy Gallery, as well as Xu Lei, artist and Art Director of Today Art Museum. To ensure the fairness and equity of the selection, the committee members will not take part in the recommendation of artist candidates.

After works submission, expert recommendation and committee review, a process which has been nearly six months, ten young artists stood out from more than 400 candidates. They are: Chen Fei, Chen Zhou, Hu Yun, Han Bing, Li Wei, Liu Guoqiang, Pan Honggang & Hu Youchen, Wang Haiyang, Yan Xing, and Zhao Jingyan (in alphabetical order by last name). The shortlisted artists’ works encompass paintings, videos, installations and other forms, displaying the wealth of imagination and experimental spirit of contemporary young artists. In addition, the year 2012 marks the centenary of Martell's classic product — Cordon Bleu, the 10 shortlisted artists were also invited to create "One Hundred Years" themed works and conduct centenary conversation with the past, present and future. Their works are displayed with the shortlisted exhibition works, showing the diverse talents of the artists.

The launch of the first “Focus on Talents” project in 2011 received wide social recognition and many young artists have been attracted to the initiative. Last year Lu Yang and Ying Xinxun won the first “Talent Awards” among shortlisted artists. This year the second “Talent Awards” have been granted to the young artists Chen Fei, Li Wei, Wang Haiyang and Zhao Jingyan, whose exceptional artworks in respective fields won great recognition of all judges.

Judge Chen Danqing says, “Among the works delivered this year, those making use of multimedia have grown significantly, with a parallel decrease in paintings. This is a good phenomenon. The various media in contemporary art are no longer an issue to the post-80s. At least, most of the shortlisted artists have got rid of the painting threshold of our generation. They have the natural instinct to be involved in the media, such as video, installation and behavior, etc. They are not confined to painting. This is what I have expected for a long time.” Meanwhile, judge representative Xu Lei says, “As a public art museum, Today Art Museum’s cooperation with Martell, a brand and fund that has a strong sense of social responsibility, is worthy of affirmation. It is expected that “Focus on Talents” project will last long into the future, given proper objective conditions, to provide the young artists with the sustained spiritual and material attention and social supports.”

The artwork of the final “Talent Awards” winners will continually to be collected by Martell Art Fund and donated to Today Art Museum for collection. Besides, to further encourage and identify the creation of young artists, “Talent Awards” winners will be funded by Martell Art Fund for its solo exhibition or art studio exchange program in France. At the same time, Today Art Museum will also invite cultural scholars and art education experts, etc. to participate in this program and discuss the future of China’s contemporary art development with higher education institutions and art institutes.

For nearly three centuries, Martell, the world-renowned cognac maker, has always been closely connected to the art world. Following the awards announcement of “Focus on Talents” in May, the award ceremony of “2012 Martell Artists of the Year” will be held on June 26th at Today Art Museum. This will provide an extraordinary experience for the true life connoisseur.