Art Basel and BMW continue their joint initiative to recognize and support emerging artists worldwide with the announcement of the shortlist for the BMW Art Journey on December 1, during this year's Art Basel in Miami Beach. The shortlisted artists are: Max Hooper Schneider, Maggie Lee and Beto Shwafaty. Like a mobile studio, the BMW Art Journey can take artists almost anywhere in the world to develop new ideas and envision new creative projects.
Today, an international expert jury announced the following shortlist of three artists showing in Positions, the sector for emerging artists at Art Basel's Miami Beach show:
Max Hooper Schneider at High Art, Paris
Max Hooper Schneider (b. 1982) lives and works in Los Angeles. He studied biology and architectural landscape at Harvard University and his work is the result of what can be described as 'recalcitrant experimentation'. In his practice, he specifically pays attention to the evolving relationship between philosophy and nature. At this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach, Schneider is presenting an installation consisting of a group of works functioning as a classification of objects. Schneider´s solo exhibitions include Kayne Griffin Corcoran, Los Angeles and Federico Vavassori, Milan. He has exhibited in recent group shows at Art Foundation, London and Galeria Nicodim, Bucharest.
Maggie Lee at Real Fine Arts, New York
Maggie Lee (b. 1987) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. The Taiwanese American artist received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the Pratt Institute in 2009. At Art Basel in Miami Beach, the multimedia artist is presenting an immersive installation of new works in various formats, conceived as a teenage girl’s bedroom, where each of the objects are individual works including a television, hanging sculptures and wall works that combine collaged elements and create a multi-layered experience. Lee’s solo exhibitions include 356 Mission, Los Angeles; Real Fine Arts, New York and Ladybug House, San Francisco. Recent group shows include the Whitney Museum, New York and SCHLOSS in Oslo.
Beto Shwafaty at Prometeogallery di Ida Pisani, Milan, Lucca
Beto Shwafaty (b. 1977) lives and works in Brazil. In 2015 he received the FOCO Bradesco/ArtRio Award as well as the ICCo/SP-Arte Award. He develops a research-based practice on spaces, histories and visualities. Shwafaty’s exhibition at Art Basel in Miami Beach contains an installation of video, sculpture, objects and printed matter to compose a display that evokes aspects linked to the management of land, population, political imagery and aesthetics. His solo exhibitions include City Museum of São Paulo, Parc, Lima and Lampione, Frankfurt am Main.
The three shortlisted artists are now invited to develop a proposal for their ideal journey, with the winner to be announced in early 2017.
The members of the expert jury in Miami Beach are:
Massimiliano Gioni, Artistic Director New Museum, New York Gabriele Horn, Director Berlin Biennale, Berlin
Victoria Noorthoorn, Director Museo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires Bisi Silva, Director Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos
Philip Tinari, Director Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing
'The jury was very excited about this year's quality of presentations in the Positions sector. The diversity – both geographical and conceptual – of the participating artists and galleries allowed for a singular and energizing overview of emerging art today. As always when faced with such great artists, the choice was quite difficult, but the jury unanimously agreed on these three artists,' states the jury.
In collaboration with the winning artist, the journey will be documented and shared with the public through publications, online and social media.
During this year's show in Miami Beach, Abigail Reynolds, latest winner of the BMW Art Journey, presents first works she has created from her travels. On display in the BMW Lounge will be photographs documenting the first leg of her journey exploring lost libraries along the Silk Road.
The latest edition in the BMW Art Journey book series, 'For whom the Bell Tolls' is also presented at the fair. The book gives insights about Samson Young’s BMW Art Journey and contains the artist’s travel diary with personal reflections and descriptions of the locations he visited in twelve countries on five continents. Included in the volume is a suite of sound sketches evoking the acoustic landscape of the bells, along with a brochure for a multimedia walk Young staged during Art Basel's show in Hong Kong in 2016.
BMW has supported Art Basel’s shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong as a long-term partner for many years.
