In 2023 Lee Ufan Arlemyself House Guerlain to join forces to create the Art and Environment Award, which will be awarded every year to a project that focuses on the rich and diverse relationship between artistic creation and the environment and that will benefit from an international profile. Arts and Environment Award is based on the complementary philosophies that characterize Li Wufang’s work and Guerlain’s commitment, offering a space for reflection based on dialogue, creativity and openness to the world. By awarding the winners with residency and exhibition at Lee Ufan Arles, the Art & Environment Prize is committed to enhancing the artist’s work by increasing its visibility through the joint support of two fundamental realities. With the same sensitivity to the support and transmission of artistic skills, and the same commitment to art and the environment, Lee Ufan Arles and Maison Guerlain strive to encourage the creation of altruistic and responsible works of art, opening up new dialogues with nature.
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Li Wufang’s work aims to bring the three cultures together. The universal concept of meeting and dialogue is at the heart of the work of this multifaceted artist who is also a painter, sculptor, poet and philosopher. Born in the heart of the seventies, Li Wufang’s work soon called into question the oppressive nature of contemporary art, which is largely self-centered and dominated by the artist’s ego. Taking a contrasting approach to leaving a mark or imposing a vision, and with an aesthetic that does not take into account the environment, Li Wufang aims to give new meaning to the outside world and place this concept at the center of his artistic exploration.
Always a patron of the art of his time, Guerlain collaborated with numerous artists and experienced craftsmen from the outset, constantly renewing his support for art and design. Since the founding of the House in 1828artists, illustrators and decorators, as well as sculptors and photographers were able to take part in this great creative dialogue.
The dynamic of openness to the world espoused by Li Wufan makes us see nature as a privileged place of exchange. Li Wufang’s work transcends inward and outward and confronts difference by building open spaces, bridges to respected, not controlled, nature. In short, it’s about creating connection points between yourself and your environment. In this way, works become a medium that stimulates our imagination and invites us to communicate with the outside world. Like Li Wufang, Guerlain is strengthening its links with nature13 by increasing important partnerships and initiatives through Guerlain’s bee conservation program. The house has been closely associated with bees since the creation of the bee bottle in 1853. As a symbol of Guerlain’s commitment for more than a decade, the Maison has made protecting this natural wonder one of its main goals.
The Art and Environment Award annually recognizes a project that places the fruitful and diverse relationship between artistic creation and the environment at the center of its significance and has an international dimension. By rewarding the winner with a residency and exhibition at Lee Ufan Arles, the Art & Environment Prize intends to promote the work of the winning artist by enhancing it through the joint support of two foundational realities. The award will focus on conceptual projects that offer a new vision of our relationship with modernity, as well as on long-term teamwork related to nature, the environment and materials.
The first Art and Environment Awards is open to all artists from all over the world independently.
from the artistic discipline, without age restrictions or special qualifications.
Application Deadline: September 20, 2023
Winner Announcement: October 19-22, 2023
Get more information and apply → www.leeufan-arles.org/art-environment-prize