A The Others consegnato il Premio Zenato Academy all'artista cinese Lu Yidan della Galleria BianchiZardin

TORINO CONTEMPORARY ART WEEK
ZENATO ACADEMY AWARD PRESENTED AT THE OTHERS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR
Winning Work by Chinese Artist Lu Yidan of Galleria BianchiZardin

The Zenato Academy Award for Contemporary Photography was presented to Chinese artist Lu Yidan for her work Chinese Garden (2021), represented by the Milan-based gallery BianchiZardin, during The Others contemporary art fair in Turin.

The award jury, composed of Lorenzo Bruni (Artistic Director of The Others), art critic Luca Panaro, and entrepreneur Nadia Zenato, selected Lu Yidan’s work “for its ability to stand out through formal research and visual originality, in continuity with the works in the Zenato Academy Collection. Lu Yidan’s artistic practice records distant memories and personal experiences that prompt reflections on the present, through a photographic language that challenges traditional conventions.”

Chinese Garden was taken in the artist’s hometown of Luoyang after she returned to China from the United States during the Covid-19 pandemic. The photograph depicts the ruins of the Sui-Tang dynasty, originally built in the first year of Emperor Yangdi of Sui (605 AD) to promote economic development and strengthen central authority.

The Zenato Academy Award for Contemporary Photography was established in 2019, on the occasion of the Turin fair, to open a dialogue with an audience interested in contemporary art — in a context that embraces the most innovative and experimental artistic expressions. The award pursues a threefold mission: to support young artists working in photography, to collaborate with galleries engaged in research and experimentation, and to enrich the collection with works that embody the spirit of contemporary visual culture.

“This journey has led us, over the years, to support artists and host exhibitions, performances, and installations at our estates,” says Nadia Zenato, owner of the renowned Veneto winery known for its Lugana and red wines from Valpolicella, especially Amarone. “In 2018, we founded the Zenato Academy with the goal of becoming an ideal place to support young artists and promote a new vision — one that is open, unfiltered, and capable of offering fresh perspectives on our reality.”

Lu Yidan is a multimedia artist. Born in China, she currently lives in the United States. She began her artistic training in set design at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan before moving to the U.S. to pursue a second Master’s degree in photography. Lu’s work draws on emerging technologies to reflect on the underlying structure of human society. Her practice frequently addresses key environmental, ethical, and moral paradoxes, visually constructed with the aesthetics of scenic art.

Lu Yidan – Chinese Garden
Digital photograph printed on Hahnemühle Museum Etching (2021)
100 × 100 cm – Ed. 1/3