Two artists—New York-based Heidi Lau and Hong Kong-based Wong Ping—have been named joint winners of the biennial Sigg Prize 2025 awarded by the M+ museum in Hong Kong. Each artists obtain HK$300,000 ($39,000) every.
The opposite shortlisted artists embody Bi Rongrong, Ho Rui An, Hsu Chia-Wei and Pan Daijing, all of which is able to acquired HK$100,000 ($13,000) every as a part of the prize’s third version. The works of all of the shortlisted artists are on view at M+ till 4 January.
Lau acquired her BFA (Bachelor of Effective Arts) from New York College in 2008, the place she primarily studied printmaking and drawing. “Lau proposes alternate configurations of time and area via her ceramic observe,” says an M+ assertion, and creates ceramics “residing on the spectrum between uncooked chaos and sculpted order”, says Artsy. Lau interweaves varied themes and sentiments, encompassing historical mythology and Taoist philosophy. She additionally focuses on household grief following the dying of her mom.
Wong Ping together with his work on the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition
Photograph: Dan Leung. Courtesy of M+, Hong Kong
“An animator and graphic designer, Wong creates vivid, dreamlike worlds that mirror fashionable society whereas alluding to social and political points,” provides the M+ assertion. His witty, express animation movies contact upon themes akin to sexual repression, globalisation, twisted morality and the shortcomings of know-how. “My working course of is sort of a humorist’s…. they’ve punchlines and, on the finish, in addition they mirror on social points,” Wong mentioned beforehand. The artist graduated with a BFA from Curtin College in Perth.
Within the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition, Lau presents Pavilion Procession (2025), an set up of ceramic sculptures that includes a programmed kinetic spider manufactured from ceramic and mechanical elements. Wong’s video set up Money owed within the Wind (2025) includes a mini theatre adorned with synthetic turf, bushy golf balls, and a flagpole.
The announcement of the Sigg Prize winners was postponed till 16 December out of respect for these affected by the hearth in a number of high-rise flats within the northern Tai Po district.
Established in 2018 by M+, the Sigg Prize “celebrates excellent modern artists from Higher China and its diaspora”, says a press release. The Sigg Prize developed from The Chinese language Modern Artwork Award (CCAA) which was based by the Swiss diplomat and collector Uli Sigg in 1997.
“My major functions in establishing the [CCAA] award had been to present encouragement to artists with expertise, to reinforce consciousness on the a part of a largely uninterested Chinese language public, and to deliver distinguished worldwide professionals to the Chinese language artwork scene,” mentioned Sigg in 2018.
