This award stems from an idea by the Picena Contemporary Art Association with the collaboration and contribution of the City of Ascoli Piceno and the Fainplast Group. An institution, an association, and a private sponsor unite to honour a 20th century master.
The award, for Italian painting, does not have an internal jury. Instead, about 40professionals in the contemporary art field, including curators, critics, collectors, museum directors, and journalists, are requested to name an artist who, in their opinion, stood out during the year or who has had a major career. There are five criteria for naming such artist: he/she must be Italian or live permanently in Italy; his/her work must mainly be painting; he/she must not be older than 64 (Osvaldo Licini’s age at his death); he/she must have taken part in at least one large show in Italy or abroad (biennial, quadrennial, or equally important exhibitions); he/she must not have already won the award. Marco Neri won the award in 2021; Riccardo Baruzzi in 2022.
For the 2023 edition, one of the four finalists will be exhibited in the Pittura XXI section of Arte Fiera, selected by jury composed of a member appointed by Picena Contemporary Art Association plus two contemporary art professionals.
The selected artist will go into the final with a minimum of 3 votes (to which those of other external jurors may be added) and will compete with artists voted by external jurors.
Jury:
Finalist artist: LORENZA BOISI
Ribot Gallery (Hall 25 Stand A/55)
Motivation: The jury selected Lorenza Boisi of Ribot Gallery for the continuity of her pictorial research, her extraordinary chromatic joy, and her descriptive capacity. The jury also chose her work for the Licini Museum’s collection due to this painting’s 20th-century roots, with the presence of figures from an ancient and yet personal mythology, as in her Orpheus enchanting animals.