Porsche “Young Chinese Artist of the Year” 2018-19 at Art021 in Shanghai

Wu Junyong, Yao Qingmei, and Zhang Ding: Porsche “Young Chinese Artists of the Year”

During the collectors’ preview of Shanghai Art021art fair 2018, the three winners of the Porsche “Young Chinese artist of the year” program were revealed. Wu Junyong, Yao Qingmei, and Zhang Ding were chosen among the program’s 15 nominees. Zhang Ding is well known for his bold and sharp work,  incorporating elements of performance, like live music. Yao Qingmei’s work consists principally of theatrical performances questioning the power mechanisms at play in today’s society while Wu Junyong’s paintings and animation works rooted in the tradition are a satire of the society.

Art Prize for Critical and Independent Thinkers

At the exhibition, listed among the Art021 fair kick-off events, two of the winners showed the works they made thanks to the prize they received. Yao Qingmei presented her provocative video installation titled Face Change and Wu Junyong, an installation from his recent project Empire that consists of 4 videos and an on-site mural painting.

The Program, jointly organised by Porsche China and ART021, aims to support up and coming artists who are challenge takers and independent thinkers. Mr. Franz Jung, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche China said, “I hope that this platform provided by Porsche will motivate more young artists to aggressively break existing constraints and express their views, encouraging the present changes and future developments of Chinese modern art.” With this statement, the brand seems to want to make its program stand out against the countless art prizes in China.