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ART & ENVIRONMENT PRIZE
In 2023, Lee Ufan Arles and Maison Guerlain have joined forces to create the Art & Environment Prize, which will be awarded each year to a project that focuses on the fruitful and multi-faceted relationship between artistic creation and the environment.
A COLLABORATION THAT HARMONIZES CREATION AND NATURE
ARTISTIC SUPPORT AND DIALOGUE
Since its inception, Guerlain has woven bridges with the arts, entrusting contemporary artists with their cases and bottles, organizing exhibitions, and creating artistic programs to support creativity.
This notion of artistic encounter and dialogue is fundamental to Lee Ufan, an internationally renowned artist.
With Lee Ufan Arles, an exhibition space spanning nearly 1000 square meters, his aim is to enrich the cultural offerings of the city of Arles in Provence, France by creating "a vibrant place, a living place, a place of sharing."
COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENT
The materials used by Lee Ufan for his works, such as stone and metal, invite man to change his habits and move towards harmonious coexistence with nature.
"I WANT TO BUILD A BRIDGE BETWEEN THIS INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY AND ORIGINAL NATURE. AND MAKE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP. I CREATE A KIND OF TENSION BETWEEN THE MATERIALS, WHICH RESOLVES ITSELF INTO SERENITY - INTO PEACE. I'M LOOKING FOR BALANCE." Lee Ufan
Like Lee Ufan, Guerlain builds relationships with nature. Since 2007, the House has formalised its pioneering commitment to Nature, Au nom de la Beauté, and places its preservation at the heart of its actions.
ABOUT THE PRIZE
PRIZE WINNER
The winner of the Prize will be unveiled during Paris+ par Art Basel in October 2023.
They will be granted an artistic residency lasting six to eight weeks at Lee Ufan Arles, along with an exclusive production space located in the heart of the Arles region.
Following the residency, the artist's work will be showcased in an exhibition the following year during the summer season at the MA Space of Lee Ufan Arles.
JURY AND PATRON
The jury of the Prize will be presided by Lee Ufan and consist of representatives from both Maison Guerlain and Lee Ufan Arles.
GUERLAIN:
Gabrielle Saint-Genis Rodriguez, President and CEO
Ann-Caroline Prazan, Director of Art, Culture, and Heritage
Alice Audoin, Member of the Sustainability Board.
LEE UFAN ARLES:
Esra Joo, Vice President
Juliette Vignon, General Coordinator
Alfred Pacquement, Honorary General Heritage Curator
Renowned art historian and researcher, Philippe Dagen, will be the patron of this inaugural edition.
MORE ABOUT LEE UFAN ARLES
THE ARTIST
Lee Ufan was born in Korea in 1936 and lives and works in Paris, New York and Japan. He is the artist theoretician of the avant-garde movement Mono-ha (""the school of things""), a Japanese artistic movement that developed in parallel with minimalist and radical movements. Mono-ha is often considered to be very close to the attitudes and choices that nourished Arte Povera in Europe.
Lee Ufan's sculptures are presented as connections between stones or wood chosen from nature and industrial materials, while his painting tends towards a single sign, towards meditation and the evocation of emptiness.
THE FOUNDATION
In the heart of the Hôtel Vernon, a private mansion built between the 16th and 18th centuries, halfway between the Arenas and the Place du Forum, 1350 m² on three floors reveal the works of the painter and minimalist sculptor, as well as a bookshop, a store, mediation and reception areas.
