In early 2019, Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial services organization, announced the creation of the Nomura Art Prize, which rewarded artists for artistic exploration and development with a high cash prize of $1 million and support for innovation in contemporary visual art. Since then, Nomura has selected an artist who has created a series of works of great cultural significance and awarded him the “Nomura Art Award”. At the same time, Nomura will present two “New Artist Awards” each with a prize of US$100,000 to recognize outstanding artists with great potential.
On May 21, 2019, the list of the first “Nomura New Artist Award”, founded by Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial services organization, was announced. The annual awards ceremony was held at Tofu Temple in Japan. This temple built in 1236 is one of the five major temples in Kyoto. The temple’s Honor Garden was designed in 1939 by the revered Emperor Sakamoto, and Japan’s Kamakura Zen Garden is the simplest Japanese scenic spot in the Kamakura period, and it is in harmony with contemporary visual art.
“Nomura New Artist Award”
In 2019, Nomura Holdings, a Japanese financial services organization, brought new impetus to the world of contemporary visual art. Nomura announced that each year, an artist who created a series of works of great cultural significance will be awarded the “Nomura Art Award” and a prize of up to $100 to help artists innovate.
The “Nomura New Artist Award” presented at the celebration was awarded to Chinese artist Cheng Ran and his 1988 American artist Cameron Rowland, born in 1988 in Hangzhou, China and the United States. New York lives and works in art. Each of them will receive a $100,000 cash prize. This is undoubtedly a big push to promote the development of contemporary visual art.
In line with the attitude of being responsible for art, the winners of the “Nomura New Artist Award” were selected by a jury composed of highly respected museum curators, curators, foundation managers and art authoritative experts from around the world. They include: Hong Kong Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the M+ Visual Culture Museum, Zheng Daoling, Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Kathy Halbrecht, Art Director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hasegawa Megumi, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Curator Max Hollein, Chairman of the British Arts Council, Nicolas Cerrota, ArtAgency, Founder and Head of Partners (AAP), Aaron Schwarzman, Chairman of Sotheby’s Art Division, died recently. Curator, critic, writer and editor Okwui Enwezor also served as a member of the jury and completed the relevant review work before his death.
Kathy Halbrecht said on behalf of the jury: “Nomura’s innovation and contingency concept launched this award to marvel us and admire. In terms of the ‘Nomura New Artist Award, we have selected two outstanding goals, extraordinary Wisdom ambition, and an artist who is highly sensitive to today’s fast-changing world. Congratulations to Cheng Ran and Cameron Roland, and look forward to the release of the ‘Nomura Art Prize’ in October.
Contemporary visual art pioneer
Cheng Ran, the winner of the “Nomura New Artist Award”, is good at combining film, poetry, drama, fiction and installation art. The work conveys the meaning of both fusion and fragmentation. He is dedicated to exploring complex and sensitive mental states, cultural differences, social status and existentialism, and coexists in his personally visual scene. His works not only point out the development and dramatic changes of contemporary Chinese society, but also focus on the so-called identity issues, and focus on discovering new values from multiculturalism. Cheng Ran practices autonomy in his creations. The ideas presented are not simply statements, but are expressed through multi-angle thinking about boundaries, differences, and even confrontation and marginalization.
Cheng Ran’s work has been exhibited many times in biennales and museum exhibitions, including the solo exhibition “The Madman’s Diary” (2017) at the NewMuseum Museum in New York, USA. The exhibition belongs to the artist residency project jointly organized by the New Museum of Contemporary Art and the Hong Kong K11 Art Foundation (KAF). His other masterpiece, the nine-hour film “Miracle Hunting” (2015), was conceived during his stay at the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam.
Cameron Roland’s work criticizes the rule of law and economic structure that forcibly influence contemporary life. Born in Philadelphia, USA, Roland currently lives and works in Queens, New York. He has held solo exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the Tablissement den Face Gallery in Brussels, the Galerie Buchholz Gallery in Cologne, the Fri ArtKunsthalle Art Gallery in Fribourg, Switzerland, the Artists Space in New York and the Essex Street, and has participated in several groups. Exhibitions include the Vienna Secession Exhibition Hall, the Harvard Art Museum in Cambridge, the Whitney Museum in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), and the Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil. Roland’s next solo exhibition will be held at the London School of Contemporary Art in 2020.
Hajime Ikeda, Senior Managing Director of Nomura, said: “We sincerely congratulate Cheng Ran and Cameron Roland for their great achievements in the arts, and I am very proud of the ‘Nomura New Artist Award for their continued creation. The group fully understands that the promotion of pro-exploration and high-yield creativity is the goal of Nomura, which is not only important for our work, but also applies to the personal development of today’s artists. I am very grateful to the judges for their professionalism in this award. The pursuit of excellence.”
The Nomura Art Award, established to encourage and nourish creativity, is helping young people who focus on contemporary visual art to help them break through limits and meet challenges. At present, the “Nomura Art Award” is in an intense selection, and the judges from the international jury will announce new answers to the world in Shanghai in October.
