The three finalists for the 2018 Maxxi Bulgari Prize were presented yesterday at the Bulgari Hotel in London, as the Frieze Art Fair prepared to open for its 15th edition. The award was created to nurture talent among young Italian artists, and this year it was extended to cover international artists who work in Italy and carry out research on Italian issues. Giovanna Melandri, the president of the Maxxi Foundation, and Nicola Bulgari, the vice-president of Bulgari, with the support of the Embassy of Italy in London, inaugurated the first year of collaboration between the museum and the fashion house.
The finalists were selected by an international jury: Hou Hanru, the artistic director of Maxxi, Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, the director of Maxxi Arte, David Elliot, an independent curator, Yoko Hasegawa, the artistic director of MOT Tokyo, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, the artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London. In May 2018 the artists will exhibit site-specific works in an exhibition curated by Giulia Ferracci at Maxxi, who will announce the winner in October 2018. The work of the winning artist will become part of the museum’s permanent collection.
The award comes during an important time for Italian art in London, which sees a growing interest in modern and contemporary Italian art and numerous exhibitions dedicated to it, as well as a major presence of Italian galleries at the Frieze Art Fair.
– Read more about the MAXXI Bulgari Prize
