Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

Huang Yong Ping

Michael Parekowhai

Rirkrit Tiravanija

Three international artists have been shortlisted to create a $1 million outdoor sculpture as a special birthday present to mark 20 years of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

Premier Anna Bligh congratulated Huang Yong Ping, Michael Parekowhai and Rirkrit Tiravanija on making the shortlist, with the winning sculptor to be revealed in November 2011 and the sculpture unveiled at the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in December 2012.

"The winning sculpture will be placed on the banks of the Brisbane River at GoMA's eastern corner, and I'm certain it will enhance Queensland's profile nationally and internationally as a leader in the arts," Ms Bligh said.

"This sculpture builds on the great strides we have made in the arts already to raise Queensland's profile as an arts and culture hot spot.

"Since GoMA opened almost five years ago, we have hosted blockbuster exhibitions such as Andy Warhol, Picasso and his collection, American Impressionism and Realism, and Valentino.

"These four exhibitions together contributed more than $45 million to Queensland's economy, so this is not just an arts investment but also a great boost for the local economy.

"It's because of exhibitions like these, and acquiring new major works like the sculpture, that GoMA and the Queensland Art Gallery have risen to become the country's most popular art galleries, with 1.8 million visits last year, according to a survey carried out by The Art Newspaper."

"It's too early to say what form the final sculpture will take, but past works by these three artists include images as diverse as a seal balancing a piano on its nose; a replica of the Colosseum; and a chrome cube which people can climb in to."

Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said this public artwork from one of the world's leading artists would be a highlight of APT7.

"Huang Yong Ping has held major solo exhibitions at the Musée océanographique de Monaco; Barbican Art Gallery, London and the Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing," Mr Ellwood said.

"He has also appeared in group exhibitions including 10,000 Lives: The 8th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea, as well as at the Centre Pompidou, Paris and the Serpentine Gallery, London.

"Michael Parekowhai is representing New Zealand at the 2011 Venice Biennale and his work is held in the collections of leading museums including the Queensland Art Gallery and was shown in The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, which marked the opening of GoMA in 2006.

"Born in Argentina and raised in Thailand, Rirkrit Tiravanija has had major solo exhibitions at leading American and European art museums, and completed public commissions in South Korea and Luxembourg.

"His work is held in the collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and Migros Museum fur Gegenwartskunst, Zurich."