Artist Claire Santa Coloma is the winner of the 12th edition of the EDP Foundation Prémio Novos Artistas (New Artists Award) and artist Ana Guedes receives the Honourable Mention.
The jury comprised of Eduardo Batarda, Penelope Curtis, Bill Fontana, João Mourão and presided by Pedro Gadanho, noted that the six finalists appear to reflect diverse concepts and production lines that constitute contemporary artistic practise, and was proud of the good level of the works presented.
According to the jury’s arguments, Claire de Santa Coloma reveals an uncommon independence. Her work, which is rich in shocks and juxtapositions between the obvious and the subtle, the evocative, iconic and functional, between the banal and the descriptive, or between the artisanal and symbolic, inspires completely contemporary perplexities and lines of questioning, and leaves nothing closed regarding her own future.
The artist’s work invites the spectator to use time, to look, see and think. The spectator’s position and attitude enable the appearance of more ruptures, new discoveries and even more moments of exception. The work presented is, in the jury’s opinion, an example of dedication and an important reiteration of freedom. The Award, in the amount of 20 thousand euros, aims to support the artist to further her study or creative and investigative work, as well as the international expansion of her career.
Ana Guedes receives the Honourable Mention for her originality and ability to combine sound, spatiality and critical narrative. Thus the artist projects the notion of sound practise and sculpture to a level of complexity that superimposes issues like perception, autobiography, historic memory and geographic migration.
The exhibition featuring the works of the 6 finalists will be presented at the Power Station until 9 October 2017.
The EDP Foundation Prémio Novos Artistas (New Artists Award) was established in 2000 and aims to reveal new values in national creation, in the visual arts. It is recognised as one of the most significant awards in the Portuguese artistic scenario. Winners of the previous editions include Joana Vasconcelos, Leonor Antunes, Vasco Araújo, Carlos Bunga, João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva, João Leonardo, André Romão, Gabriel Abrantes, Priscila Fernandes, Ana Santos and Mariana Silva.
