Wang Tuo Wins 2023 Sigg Prize

M+ in Hong Kong has announced Beijing-based artist Wang Tuo as the winner of the 2023 Sigg Prize. The Jilin-born Wang won on the strength of his immersive multichannel video workThe Northeast Tetralogy, 2018–21, which explores the intersection between history and storytelling. The work is on view at M+ in the 2023 Sigg Prize exhibition through January 14 alongside that of the five other artists shortlisted for the prize: Yu Ji, Trevor Yeung, Jes Fan, Xie Nanxing, and Miao Ying.

Wang will receive HKD 500,000 ($64,000), while each of the shortlisted artists will be awarded HKD 100,000 ($12,800). M+ director Suhanya Raffel, and chairwoman of the Sigg Prize, in a statement noted that “the jury was unanimously moved by the sophisticated imagery and intricate storytelling” of Wang’s installation, further noting, “Many layers of narratives in his epic work help foster cultural dialogue and demonstrate his unique vision of the contemporary world.”RelatedALEXIS SMITH (1949–2024)LA DEALER STEFAN SIMCHOWITZ AIMING FOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN’S SENATE SEAT Wang, known for moving-image, painting, and performance works blending historical archives, mythology, and speculative narratives, is only the second artist to win the biennial prize, which waslaunchedin 2019 to recognize artists working in Greater China: Samson Young took the inaugural honor in 2020. Wang’sNortheast Tetralogymerges historical and fictional events across four videos, each portraying a different figure from a specific historical period.

The installation is arranged in the manner of ashanshui, or “mountain-water,” painting, a kind of landscape painting in which the natural elements depicted represent the opposing but complementary poles—yin and yang—of the Daoist universe. The Sigg Prize jury in a statement described the work as “a pertinent and timely inquiry into the record and interpretation of history in the Greater China region and beyond . .

. an elegant and resonating cinematic experience.”.