Sikkema Malloy Jenkins is thrilled to announce that Heidi Lau has been awarded the M+ Sigg Prize 2025 jointly with Wong Ping. This edition of the Sigg Prize marks the first time the biennial award has named two artists to its top honor.
Established in 2018 by M+, the Sigg Prize celebrates outstanding contemporary artists from Greater China and its diasporas. It brings global attention to the region’s vibrant cultural landscape and diverse artistic voices. For the 2025 edition, the jury recognizes two artists whose works contrast in artistic approach, medium, and material, yet share equally profound reflections on contemporary life.
Heidi Lau says: "I am deeply humbled that my work in the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition resonates with the jury and audiences in Hong Kong and beyond. Receiving this recognition for a predominantly ceramic piece feels surreal, especially since the medium is often seen as secondary in contemporary art. This experience affirms my early conviction to devote my practice to this medium, which I believe has the power to create form and meaning out of the unknowable. Winning the prize signals a new chapter in my artistic practice, and it has inspired me to keep pushing the boundaries."
Lau's Pavilion Procession (2025) is currently featured in the 2025 Sigg Prize exhibition at M+, on view through January 4, 2026. Pavilion Procession is a large-scale installation composed of ceramic sculptures and a programmed kinetic spider made of ceramic and mechanical parts. Inspired by ancient mythologies of Shanhaijing and the artist’s experience of grief and loss, the work demonstrates how material sensitivity and spatial composition can transform mourning into a shared experience.
The Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition is co-curated by Ariadne Long, Associate Curator, Visual Art, M+; and Pauline J. Yao, Guest Curator; assisted by Mankit Lai, Curatorial Assistant, M+. The exhibition is on view through January 4, 2026.
