La artist Eva Mauricio with the work ‘Sentar la cabeza’ has won the first prize of the XXV International Contest ‘Encuentros de Arte Contemporáneo’, organized by the Juan Gil-Albert Institute together with the University of Alicante, as reported by the provincial institution in a statement.
The Deputy of Culture, Juan de Dios Navarro, inaugurated this afternoon the exhibition of the 25 selected works, one for each year of the contest, which can be visited until July 20th at the University of Alicante Museum.
‘Sentar la cabeza’ is the winner of the contest, a work that combines a series of drawings and oils with an installation of nine used and broken school chairs forming a pyre.
With it, Eva Mauricio has won the main prize, endowed with 8,500 euros, while the set of collages and photographs, ‘Transformer’ by Alberto Feijóo, has been the work selected in second place – with 3,000 euros – and Elio Rodríguez has received the third prize, endowed with 2,500 euros, for the textile sculpture ‘Leona’s Flower’.
In addition to the awarded creators, the exhibition showcases pieces by artists Pablo Bellot with ‘Black on White N5_Communication Act N41’ (END); Beatriz Carbonell, with ‘Ignorance’; Lucas Selezio de Souza, with Untitled, series ‘Plus Ultra’; Blanca Espasa, with ‘Emboss’; María Esteve with ‘Geography of Time’; Juan Fuster, with ‘The Parables’; Esther Gisbert, ‘Drassana with Aixovar II’; and Susana Guerrero, with ‘Love me, interior of Santa María de Alejandría’.
Also selected are Cristóbal Hernández, with ‘State’; Abel Jaramillo, with ‘Volcanoes in the Hands’; Gala Knörr, with ‘The Maba Series (8-11)’; Sergio Luna, with ‘Foreign Bodies under my Pillow’; José Vicente Martín, with ‘Safari Hunter’; Francisco Mayor, with ‘One Landscape and Three Views’; Esther Navarro, with ‘Work from the Light Air series’; Luisa Pastor, with Contemporary Architectures’; Nuria Pérez, with ‘Orange Tapestry’; Guillermo Masedo, with ‘You never forgave me that Dean Moriarty did not come to dinner at home’; Héctor Prats, with ‘Days of Miracle and Wonder’; Luciana Rago, with ‘Journey to Manila’; Guibert Rosales, with ‘Geography of Power’; and Estefanía Serrano, with ‘Two Minutes and Three Seconds’.
The selected works cover different artistic disciplines such as video, installation, painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography. Through these awards, the IAC aims to «show innovative perspectives of the different artistic languages of postmodernity, as well as to promote mechanisms that favor the encounter and participation of young plastic creators, not only from the province but also from anywhere in the world.»
The jury, chaired by Juan de Dios Navarro, as a member of the Governing Board of the IAC, has been composed of Remedios Navarro – art historian and MUA technician -, Begoña Martínez Deltell – cultural manager and gallery owner of contemporary art, member of the Valencian Council of Culture and the cultural team of the IAC -, Estefanía Soler Selma – art historian, heritage conservator, and director of the Art Department of the IAC – and Amparo Koninckx, general secretary of the Provincial Council.