The 15th edition of COMBAT PRIZE, an international contemporary art competition organised by the cultural association Blob Art ETS in collaboration with the Municipality of Livorno and supported by the Regione Toscana, the Fondazione Livorno, the Sillabe publishing house and partner Opera Laboratori, as well as Poliart, a leading manufacturer of expanded polystyrene, closed on Saturday 5 October with the announcement of the winners.
Museo Giovanni Fattori - Granai di Villa Mimbelli
The jury, composed of Ilaria Gianni, Francesca Baboni, Angel Moya Garcia, Lorenzo Balbi, Andrea Bruciati, Davide Ferri, and Stefano Taddei, chose as the winner of the Combat Prize, worth ten thousand euros, Federico Aprile with the work "Nel Grido di Anánkē", for the following reason: "The winning work emerged among the many candidates and caught the jury's attention thanks to its ability to challenge the chosen medium and to use a large number of different techniques within it. The artist managed to combine visceral elements and superficial details, sound waves and silent surfaces, imaginary landscapes and internal parts of a possible collective body in a perfect and balanced way, bringing a global message reminding us how we are all in constant and inexorable change."
For the Painting section, the jury awarded the prize to Julie Polidoro with the work "Social Distance", for the following reason: "The artist translates into painting a scene taken from the web, one of the many that appear on our screens and are quickly replaced by others. The protagonist is a temporary evacuation centre following a natural disaster. The migrants' faces are incomplete, their bodies isolated in their confines, and their loneliness and marginalisation emerge from the vivid brushstrokes. The work reminds us of the importance of stopping our gaze on collective and anonymous tragedies, through a pictorial language that interprets our socio-political times."
Jury special mention to Jilian Wu
For the Photography section, the jury declared Camilla Postiglione the winner with the work 'Bystanders', for the following reason: 'The work revives a classic theme from the Romantic pictorial tradition, but with different nuances. The figures of bystanders in front of the landscape, alone in a semi-anthropized context, appear suspended between a sense of inappearance and a desire for abandonment. The frayed contours of the pictures instil a sense of perpetual unresolvedness."
Jury special mention to Giulia Sofi
For the Graphics section, the prize was awarded to Marco Rossi with his work "Un attimo impensato" (An unthought-of moment), for the following reason: "For his extraordinary ability to describe the identity of the individual as an element of human transformation, through a free and lively stroke that expresses tension through the monotype technique."
Special mention of the jury to Barbara Rosita Raimondo
The jury declared Riccardo Bellelli the winner for the Sculpture/Installation section with the work "Turner", for the following reason: "The author pours regressive psychic mechanisms onto found objects and materials according to primarily pictorial-compositional values. This approach draws on neo-surrealist aesthetic categories based on ambiguous, ironic or perturbing juxtapositions."
Special mention of the jury to Grossi - Maglioni
Finally, for the Video section, the jury awarded the prize to Leila Erdman Tabukashvili with her work "I'm not afraid of the Apocalypse, I'm afraid you don't love me anymore" for the following reason: "For the poetic way in which she has created a video focusing on the opposition to war and the crime perpetrated by her homeland. Filmed three weeks before the start of the mobilisation in Russia on 1 September 2023, the video unfolds as a group portrait in which the moment before the apocalypse begins is gradually revealed. Because of the topicality of the narrative, because of the attempt to record what happened so that it is not forgotten, because of the need to recount from the inside what is being concealed by the international media."
Jury special mention to Benedetta Fioravanti
The awarding of the Galleria Prizes, a special prize born from the collaboration with five important contemporary art galleries and the independent space SAC Spazio Arte Contemporanea in Livorno, and consisting in the realisation of an exhibition project at their venues in the 2023/24 season, thus giving continuity to the dialogue initiated during the participation in the Prize, saw the following prizes awarded
A Pick Gallery in Turin selected artist Jilian Wu as its winner
The Milanese gallery A.More honoured artist Daniele Antoniazzi
The Federico Rui Gallery in Milan awarded the prize to Riccardo Vicentini
The Lunetta 11 gallery in Borgo Lunetta, Cuneo, has declared Lucia Cantò the winner
For the Magazzeno Gallery in Bologna, the winner is Davide Zulli
The Stazione Arte Contemporary gallery in Milan awarded the prize to Asya Dell'Uomodarme
Finally, the independent SAC contemporary art space in Livorno selected as winners: Melissa Arena, Giulia Vanelli, Asya Dell'Uomodarme, Teresa Satta
The Poliart prize is awarded to Davide Zulli. The Poliart company, a leader in the expanded polystyrene sector, will support the production of a new work by the artist.
Finally, the Popular Jury Prize, awarded on the basis of the preferences expressed by the participating public, is awarded to Marco Casalena with the work Pioneer.
