Hyundai Motor Company has launched Prayers to Fornax: Science, Technology, and Spirituality at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing, running from July 18 through December 13, 2026. Curated by Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu, the exhibition serves as the first showcase of the Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025 initiative, bringing together eight international artists and collectives to investigate the intersections of rational inquiry, technological systems, and spiritual imagination.
Tracing the Constellation of Rationality and Belief
Taking its title from Fornax—a southern hemisphere constellation named “laboratory stove” or “furnace” by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1756—the exhibition examines how scientific classification and esoteric belief have historically coexisted. According to Hyundai Motor Company, this naming convention marked a pivotal shift toward a structured ordering of the sky, driven equally by observation and human imagination.
The showcase is organized into three distinct thematic trajectories. The first investigates meaning beyond scientific limits through June Balthazard and Pierre Pauze’s Mass (2020) alongside Chen Zhe’s Celestial-cranial Instrument series (2022–2023). The second explores subterranean knowledge via Natasha Tontey’s Of Other Tomorrows Never Known (2023) and Riar Rizaldi’s Tellurian Drama (2020). The final axis observes the cosmos through contributions by Zach Blas, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Haroon Mirza, and Suzanne Treister.
The Evolution of Hyundai Blue Prize to Plus
Originally operating as regional programs—Hyundai Blue Prize Art + Tech in China and Hyundai Blue Prize Design in Korea—the initiative merged in 2025 to become Hyundai Blue Prize+.
According to Hyundai Motor Company, the expanded platform aims to foster interdisciplinary research and cross-cultural dialogue. The 2025 open call attracted over 160 exhibition proposals. Two curatorial collectives emerged as winners: Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu, alongside Hyejin Park and Yoonyoung Park. The second winning exhibition is scheduled to open on January 23, 2027.
Art Director DooEun Choi noted that the inaugural exhibition invites visitors to encounter new perspectives and reflect on how technology shapes the contemporary world. Curators Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu described the project as an effort to traverse the boundaries between science and spirituality, seeking futures that no single worldview can capture in isolation.
Public Programming at Motorstudio Beijing
Located in Beijing’s 798 Art District, Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing functions as an arts and culture space rooted in the concept of “Creative Energy.” Throughout the run of Prayers to Fornax, the venue will host a series of public events, including artist talks and hands-on workshops, designed to extend the core themes into active visitor participation.
As part of Hyundai Motor’s broader global art partnerships—which include collaborations with Tate, LACMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale—the Hyundai Blue Prize+ initiative continues to support transnational voices through platforms like Artlab Editorial and open-call programs.
