Launched in 2020 with the intention of providing effective support to the art system in one of its times of greatest difficulty, the Montani Tesei Prize is promoted by the Montani Tesei Law Firm that specialises in law in world of art and the cultural heritage. The Prize was assigned to Jingge Dong, represented byL’Ariete arte contemporanea (Bologna) for the work “Inner pond #2”, 2022, with the following motivation: “Jingge Dong’s work is a perfect meeting of Western and Eastern pictorial traditions. The nomadic nature of the artist places him in the incredible condition of being a scrupulous scholar linked with yet at the same time extraneous to both realities. A stateless cartographer capable of drawing a sublimely elegant map of the immense terrain of figurative painting.”
The all-female jury was made up of promoter Virginia Montani Tesei, Giovanna Caruso Fendi, Sole Director and Founding Partner of FOROF (Rome);Chiara Casolo Ginelli, active in sharing the visual research of emerging artists and the re-evaluation of masters as yet not fully recognized, Giovanna Stefanel, committed since 2005 with Stofanel Investment to placing architecture at the service of personal well-being, respect for the environment and eco-compatibility, and Katia Da Ros, Vice President for Environment, Sustainability and Venetian Culture, as well as Vice President and CEO of Irinox S.p.A. and President of Irinox North America, and honorary member of the Award, which took into consideration all artists on show at ArtVerona regardless of medium and language.
The intent of the patron is not only to support the Italian system through acquisitions of works but also to provide a further opportunity for visibility and in-depth analysis of the research implemented at the art fair with a special focus on approaches that respond best to contemporary issues.

Inner pond #2, 2022, by Jingge Dong, presented by L’ Ariete Arte Contemporanea (Bologna).