Rebeca Romero represented by
Copperfield gallery based in London is the
winner of the OGR Award 2023 with the project
Semilla SAGRADA. Organised by
Artissima and
Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, the OGR Award has been created to
identify an artist who effectively conveys the complex, sophisticated relationship between art, technology and innovation, with a particular focus on digital.
This year, the prize was awarded by an international jury composed of
Amira Gad, curator and writer, Rotterdam,
Lars Henrik Gass, director, Festival Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen,
Samuele Piazza, senior curator, OGR Torino, and
Domenico Quaranta, art critic, curator and lecturer specialised in media art, Milan.
In this edition, the Award has been in dialogue with
METAmorphosis, the second initiative of the
Beyond Production platform, in which
Artissima and
Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT reflect annually on the most innovative trends in contemporary art. The 2022 edition is focused on the complex phenomenon of the
Metaverse and was divided into four phases.
Four artists were shortlisted for the OGR Award during Artissima 2022:
Marcos Lutyens –
Alberta Pane, Paris and Venice;
Eva & Franco Mattes – Apalazzogallery, Brescia;
Rebeca Romero – Copperfield, London;
R M – Martina Simeti, Milan.
Artists and their galleries were subsequently involved in a training cycle that enabled them to explore the potential and limits of the metaverse under the guidance of technical partners
Artshell, LCA Studio Legale and Revibe - Metaverse Experience Factory.
The four artists then created a physical artwork and a digital alter ego of the work in the Metaverse, supported by Ilaria Bonacossa, director of the Museo Nazionale dell’Arte Digitale in Milan, with budget provided by Fondazione per l’Arte Contemporanea CRT. The projects are hosted online on a digital platform by Artshell.
Finally, the jury determined the
winner of the Award, bestowing it on
Rebeca Romero. The artwork
Semilla SAGRADA will be mounted in the Metaverse and will be unveiled to the public on
17 May 2023, in a dedicated event
at OGR Torino. The winning works will be acquired into the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT collection and will go on display at OGR Torino.