法国政府将于8月13日为著名慈善家、收藏家、美术馆和基金会创办人余德耀先生举行“法兰西共和国荣誉军团骑士勋章”授勋仪式，以表彰他在中法合作、以及推动社会进步和人类福祉方面所作出的的杰出贡献。
法兰西共和国荣誉军团勋章是法国政府颁授的最高荣誉，自1802年设立以来，是世界上最为著名的勋章之一。获此殊荣的国际人士需要从事公共服务20年或专业工作25年以上，对推动法国文化，促进社会创造力和推动人类进步方面作出杰出贡献。该勋章由法国总统签署命令，主要颁发给法籍人士；在中国，贝聿铭、金庸、巴金等文化名人，以及何鸿燊、孔祥勉、马云等商界名流曾获此殊荣。
余德耀先生授勋仪式将于8月13日在上海余德耀美术馆举行。法国驻上海总领事柯瑞宇先生在获勋通知中写道：“我尤其欣慰地看到，在您非凡的经历中，您对弘扬法国文化所作出的贡献。通过您对文化事业资助、创办余德耀美术馆及基金会，您积极参与法国文化的推广，成为贾科梅蒂基金会、国立毕加索美术馆等法国机构的重要对话伙伴。”
余德耀先生在得知获此殊荣后表示：“非常感谢法国政府授予我这一份殊荣。我一直认为，艺术是一种无国界的语言，能够使用这一语言促进中法文化之间的交流是我的荣幸。同时作为一名爱国华侨，我也希望尽一份绵薄之力，通过美术馆的平台能让中西当代艺术互动、交流！”
作为爱国华侨、慈善家与收藏家，余先生创办了余德耀美术馆和余德耀基金会以传播文化理念、推动当代艺术发展。早于2011年，余德耀基金会就开始积极介入中法文化的交流中，将中国当代艺术家张洹的《佛手》借展于法国迪纳尔艺术宫举办的“老大哥”一展；2012年借展藏品《有其母必有其子》助力蓬皮杜艺术中心举办的阿德尔·阿贝德赛梅个展“我是无辜的（Je Suis Innocent）”。 此后，基金会又于2013年赞助了法国巴黎市立现代美术馆的曾梵志个展，并于2015年5月向蓬皮杜艺术中心捐赠了中国当代艺术家丁乙的油画作品，以进一步推动中国当代艺术在国际层面的发展。2016 年3 月，余德耀基金会与巴黎贾科梅蒂基金会合作，举办已故雕塑大师、画家阿尔贝托·贾柯梅蒂有史以来全球最大个人回顾展，该项目也成为“中法高级别人文对话机制”第二次会议中唯一一个签约展览项目。“阿尔贝托·贾科梅蒂回顾展”因其精良的策划和布展，被海内外多家媒体评为年度最佳展览。
此外，余德耀基金会还向诸多世界各地的美术馆捐赠和出借重要作品，并赞助和支持相关艺术项目。在过去数年间，余德耀基金会曾赞助了包括纽约现代艺术博览会、伦敦泰特现代美术馆、瑞士洛桑爱丽舍博物馆、纽约布鲁克林美术馆、洛杉矶郡立艺术博物馆、威尼斯双年展（2013、2015印尼馆）、美国萨凡纳艺术中心（2015年徐冰个展）等在内的诸多国际机构和艺术项目；并曾为多次国际大展借展黄永砯、徐冰、张洹、丁乙等著名艺术家的作品。基金会通过持续不断地与世界顶级艺术机构进行深入对话，将亚洲文化和艺术带上世界舞台，并有效地促进了中西方文化交流。
秉承“收而不藏，与众乐乐”的理念，余德耀先生在上海完成了其长久以来的艺术梦想，建立了余德耀美术馆。自2014年5月开馆以来，美术馆成功举办了“天人之际”系列展览、“南辕北辙：杨福东作品展”、“雨屋”、“阿尔贝托 · 贾科梅蒂回顾展”、“安迪·沃霍尔：影子”、“波普之上”、“孙逊：谶语实验室”、“KAWS：始于终点”、“周力：白影”等一场场脍炙人口的艺术大展；致力于让中国观众了解国际当代艺术，更通过横跨中西的展览使世界关注中国，聚焦上海。
在西岸这片文化沃土上，由老机库改建的余德耀美术馆正在成为当代艺术发生发展的重镇、中西方文化交流的新地标；同时，也日益成为普通市民欣赏艺术、休闲会友、追求艺术生活方式的好去处。作为非营利机构，余德耀美术馆积极支持艺术教育事业，每年持续不断地举办丰富多彩的公众教育活动，尤其重视儿童教育，致力于“把艺术的乐趣带进生活”。正如余德耀先生所言：“我希望发挥美术馆本身的公益性与教育职能，可以使每一个愿意接触到艺术、树立自己艺术理想的人能在这里找到通往艺术之门的钥匙，真正成为一个公众的美术馆”。余先生也在不断探索美术馆未来的发展之路，希望在不久的将来将私人美术馆真正公共化，使其在更广阔的平台上造福社会大众。
授勋仪式当日，余德耀美术馆亦将同时举行倍受公众欢迎的“KAWS：始于终点”大展闭幕活动。展览将情感和童趣注入严谨的学术空间，在不同年龄层次和背景的观众心目中引起强烈共鸣，在余德耀美术馆开幕以来，持续引发轰动，成为年度关注度最高的展览之一，亦在美术馆三周年之际留下浓墨重彩的一笔。未来，余德耀美术馆将继续通过高品质的国内外艺术展览与公众项目，进一步加强与国际机构之间的互动，为公众的艺术生活、为中国的当代艺术事业、为美术馆运动的发展以及各国文化的交流发挥所长，将世界的目光引向上海。
The French government will be holding the bestowal ceremony for Mr. Budi Tek as Knight of the Legion of Honor on August 13th at Yuz Museum, Shanghai. This honor is to recognize and commend Mr. Budi Tek’s effort in advancing the cultural communication and cooperation between the two countries, as well as his contributions to the development of human society and mankind welfares.
The Legion of Honor is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits. It has been one of the most well-known honors in the world since established in 1802. This honor, signed by the President of French Republic, is granted primarily to French citizens, as well as to foreigners who have practiced public service for 20 years or other specializations for over 25 years. In China, distinguished culture personages such as Pei Ieoh Ming, Jin Yong, Ba Jin, business tycoons such as Stanley Ho, James Kung, Jack Ma, have been granted this honor.
The bestowal ceremony will be held on August 13th at Yuz Museum. Mr. Alex Cruau, Consulate General of France in Shanghai, wrote in his notification that “Through your patronage activities and through the creation of the Yuz museum and foundation, you have been involved in the promotion of French culture, becoming a key interlocutor for French institutions such as the Giacometti Foundation and National Museum of Pablo Picasso. I am particularly pleased to see your continued contribution to the influence of French culture in your remarkable career.”
“I send my profound gratitude to the French Republic for awarding me this honor. Art is a language without boarders. It is my honor to be able to advance communications between China and France through this language. As a patriot, I hope to make my humble effort to promote interactions and communications between eastern and western contemporary art through the platform of Yuz Museum,” said Mr. Budi Tek after receiving the notification.
As a patriot, philanthropist and collector, Mr. Budi Tek established Yuz Museum and Foundation to promote development of contemporary art in China. Yuz Foundation had been engaging in dialogues with French art institutions as early as 2011, and loan “Buddha Hand” by Zhang Huan to exhibition “Big Brother: Artists and Tyrants” in Palais des Arts, Dinard, France; and “Telle mère tel fils” to Centre Pompidou for exhibition “Adel Abdessemed: Je Suis Innocent” in 2012. Yuz Foundation sponsored “Zeng Fanzhi Solo Exhibition” in Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2013, and donated Chinese contemporary artist Ding Yi’s oil painting to Centre Pompidou in May, 2015. In March, 2016, Yuz Foundation cooperated with Giacometti Foundation on the largest retrospective ever of Alberto Giacometti in China, which was the only signed exhibition project in the second meeting of “Sino France High-level Humanity Dialogue Mechanism”. The retrospective has been elected "Best Exhibition of the Year" by media home and abroad.
Not only has Yuz Foundation donated and loaned important artworks to museums around the world and supported related art projects, it has also sponsored museums such as MoMA New York, Tate Modern London, Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Brooklyn Museum New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Venice Biennale (Indonesia Pavilion, 2013 & 2015), SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, USA (Xu Bing Solo Exhibition, 2015), and has loaned out artworks of well-known artists such as Huang Yongping, Xu Bing, Zhang Huan, Ding Yi, etc. to international exhibitions. Yuz Foundation will continue profound dialogues with top art institutions around the world, bring Asian art and culture to the world stage and promote communications between eastern and western culture.
Mr. Budi Tek has fulfilled his long-term artistic ideal by establishing Yuz Museum in Shanghai. Since its opening in May, 2014, Yuz Museum has presented widely recognized exhibitions including “Myth/History I & II”, “Twin Tracks: Yang Fudong Solo Exhibition”, “Rain Room”, “Alberto Giacometti Retrospective”, “Andy Warhol: Shadows”, “Overpop”, “Sun Xun: Prediction Laboratory”, “KAWS: Where The End Starts”, “Zhou Li: Shadow of The Wind”, devoting to engaging Chinese audience into international contemporary art and bringing more attention to Shanghai as well as China.
Located on the West Bund, Shanghai, this flourishing cultural landmark, Yuz Museum is turning into an important art institution that communicates eastern and western art and culture. Meanwhile, it becomes a popular culture site for people to appreciate contemporary artwork and experience artistic lifestyle. As a non-profit organization, Yuz Museum is devoted to the course of art education and holds various public educational programs each year. As Mr. Budi Tek put it, “I hope with the charity and educational functions of the museum, everyone who loves art and would like to fulfill their artistic dream can find a key to the door of art here, that the museum can genuinely go public.” Mr. Budi Tek is still exploring the mode of development for the museum in the future and hopes that it can benefit the public on a broader level.
In conjunction of the bestowal ceremony, this will also mark as the closing date of the well-received exhibition “KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS”. The exhibition, full of passion and naiveté, resonates among audience of different ages and backgrounds, which has become one of the most popular exhibitions of the year. In the future, Yuz Museum will continue to work on high quality exhibitions and public programs, advance interactions with international organizations, benefit the public, the course of contemporary art as well as the movement of art museum in China, drawing world’s attention to Shanghai.
【联络我们】
主编邮箱: iap007@126.com 微信: lydia2nd
