TURIN, Italy — Radamés “Juni” Figueroa is the winner of the 20th edition of the illy Present Future Prize, promoted by illycaffè since 2001 and awarded to the most noteworthy artist of Present Future, the section of Artissima dedicated to emerging talents. The prize also offers its winner the exceptional opportunity to have a show in a museum in the Piedmont region, on the occasion of the next edition of Artissima.
Radames “Juni” Figueroa (Puerto Rico) is represented by Guatemala-based gallery Proyectos Ultravioleta.
The illy Present Future Prize has been awarded by an international jury
The jury was composed by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, director of Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea and Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti in Rivoli (Torino, Italy), Chus Martínez, director of Istituto d’Arte of FHNW Academy of Art and Design (Basel), and Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of The Showroom (London), with the following motivation:
The jury unanimously awards Radames “Juni” Figueroa the illy Prize because his works are conceived as a social, communal exercise aimed to develop a curriculum that combines art-making with lessons in living, in coexistence. His use of popular language in the making connects him with the ethos of Arte Povera while expressing through art that to make history is deeply connected with the personal narratives that compose the political. His practice is nourished by the paths of perceptions, sensations, feelings, thoughts. A generous practice able to address the community, to bear with them, of making them bear themselves.
This year the jury was called to evaluate the proposals of the section online on Artissima XYZ, the new cross-media platform that transforms the curated sections of the fair into an immersive digital experience. The 2020 edition of Present Future, dedicated to emerging talents up to 40 years of age, proposes artworks by 10 artists, represented by 10 galleries (9 foreign, 1 Italian), selected by a curatorial team composed of independent curators and writers Ilaria Gianni and Fernanda Brenner.
Assigned by to the project deemed most innovative, since 2012 the prize has offered its winner the opportunity to have a solo show at the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea. In 2019 the award went to the Chinese artist aaajiao, presented by House of Ergon (Berlin), who is presenting the multimedia installation DEEP SIMULATOR (2020) curated by Marianna Vecellio at Castello di Rivoli. The exhibition, originally scheduled to open on November 5, will be visible in December 2020, compatibly with the release of new decrees.
Thanks to the commitment of illycaffè and to the partnership with Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, the illy Present Future Prize has made an important contribution to the growth of emerging talents, confirming the innovative role of an internationally renowned art institution.
Even in this extrardinary year, illy continues to support young artists, confirming the company’s focus on the search for beauty in collaboration with the most creative talents on the contemporary scene. “This is a long-term orientation, already in progress back in the 1990s, when in pursuit of the beauty that surrounds the ritual of coffee illy welcomed contemporary art into its DNA, discovering real affinities with this world – says Carlo Bach, Artistic Director of illycaffè. – Over time, this interest has taken on various forms and manifestations, such as the illy Present Future Prize, which since 2001 has enabled us to observe young talents in contemporary art, supporting their careers while gaining a privileged overview of the exponents that represent the present and will be pertinent figures in the near future. This year, perhaps more than ever before, it is important to send a signal of support to people active in the world of art, granting substance to their efforts”.
Over the years the project, now in its 20th edition, has involved key artists in the art world such as aaajiao, Pedro Neves Marques, Cally Spooner, Cécile B. Evans, Alina Chaiderov, Rachel Rose, Caroline Achaintre, Fatma Bucak, Vanessa Safavi, Santo Tolone, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Tobias Putrih, Hans Op de Beeck, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Marc Bijl, Hans Schabus, Phil Collins, Jeremy Deller, Dora García, Tue Greenfort, David Maljkovic, Ryan Trecartin, Melanie Gilligan.
Reflecting on the relationship between art, language and political turmoil, this special edition of Present Future will feature artists that see art as a way to explore their roles as citizens and social actors. Focusing on practices that listen and give voice to those who have not been in a social, political, geographical or cultural, situation of holding the microphone, instead of labeling and exploiting occurrences, the artists included in Present Future free narratives and imageries incapsulating multiple versions in History’s timeline. Each work becomes an act of resistance, and as a breath itself, one for survival. Present Future 2020 involves the spectators in a complex discourse questioning languages and positions, visions and identities, offering a dynamic and plural interactive platform for discussion and interpretation that deliberately avoids all sorts of binary oppositions. – The curators of Present Future.
Artissima
Artissima is Italy’s leading fair of contemporary art. Since its founding in 1994, it has combined presence on the international market with a vivid focus on experimentation and research. The fair is managed by Artissima srl, a company affiliated with Fondazione Torino Musei. The Artissima trademark belongs to Regione Piemonte, Città Metropolitana di Torino and Città di Torino. The 27th edition of Artissima is produced with the support of the three trademark holders, in collaboration with Fondazione CRT, Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and Camera di commercio di Torino.
