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AJF ANNOUNCES THE WINNER OF THE 2018 ARTIST AWARD

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San Francisco, California, USA: Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) is pleased to announce Bifei Cao the winner of the 2018 Art Jewelry Forum Artist Award.

Bifei Cao, Two Mouths
, 2017
Bifei Cao, Two Mouths
, 2017, baby milk powder, wood glue, silver plated
, 
44 x 76 x 597 mm, photo: Zijian Chen
Bifei Cao, Melting Together, 2017
Bifei Cao, Melting Together, 2017, baby milk powder, fine silver, wood glue, 
54 x 146 x 606 mm, photo: Zijian Chen

In these works, he intended to reinterpret a historic joining method used for a jade burial suit made during the Han Dynasty in China. Through linking and twisting thin metal wires, all of the small jade parts were united to function as body protection and were a symbolic host for the spirit. Introducing this ancient but innovative method of connection to his work is consistent with his approach of bringing traditional techniques into contemporary life.

Bifei Cao, A Jar?
, 2017
Bifei Cao, A Jar?
, 2017, baby milk powder, wood glue, baby oil
, 
67 x 114 x 495 mm, photo: Simon Cottrell
Bifei Cao, Two Mouths
, 2017
Bifei Cao, Two Mouths
, 2017, baby milk powder, wood glue, silver plated
, 
44 x 76 x 597 mm, photo: Zijian Chen

Comments from the jurors:

The fabrication of the work is highly detailed, with moments of both exacting precision and unexpected collapse. Cut apart or cobbled together, the seeming fragility of these objects brings to mind a sense of having been mended. Familiar yet strange, these hybrid forms present many curiosities and questions, repeatedly asking me to look again, and creating the desire to interact and investigate further.

–Lynn Batchelder

The objects associate to a multicultural background. Connecting different cultural influences as well as different materials give the pieces an originality and a very special feeling.

–Inger Wästberg

Cao playfully experiments with cross-cultural identity. His intricate constructions cleverly integrate quirky bottle-like vessels into jewelry, showing both great skill and originality.

–Su san Cohn

Befei Cao, 2017
A Prunus Vase, 2017, Australia brand baby milk powder, wood glue, baby oil, pigment 3.75″ x 6.75″ x 30.25″

Find out more about Bifei Cao by reading his interview on AJF, in both English and Chinese.

Bifei Cao, In Process
, 2017
Bifei Cao, In Process
, 2017, baby milk powder, wood glue, baby oil
, 181 x 330 x 390 mm, photo: artist

Art Jewelry Forum (AJF) is a nonprofit organization spreading awareness and increasing appreciation of art jewelry worldwide since 1997. Its diverse community of artists, collectors, critics, educators, galleries, historians, makers, and writers is united by a passion for art jewelry. AJF advocates for art jewelry through an ambitious agenda of education, conversation, and financial support. It commissions critical writing that sets the standard for excellence in the field, and publishes www.artjewelryforum.org, an Internet resource for original content on art jewelry.

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