On January 31, the artist from Empordà, Edgar Massegú, received the first prize for sculpture from the Sheikh of Ras Al Khaimah, His Majesty Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, as part of the Ras Al Khaimah ART International Festival , considered one of the most important annual international art exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates. The event was attended by the highest authorities of the Emirates and numerous representatives of international embassies in Dubai, such as those of Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
Massegú's work, entitled 'Nucleòtide' , travelled from Púbol to the Emirates to be exhibited at this festival. As an anecdote from the event, when His Majesty the Sheikh asked him "Where are you from?" (D'on ets?), the artist replied with modest innocence "I am a Catalan" , thus evoking the master Pau Casals. The festival jury particularly valued the original interpretation of the work in relation to this year's theme: Memory . The sculpture refers to the memory of nature through the ready-made , with a texture that recalls the marine corals and the fossil memory present on the ancient walls of the Heritage Village of Ras Al Khaimah. In this sense, 'Nucleòtide' is inserted into the Ribozim work series, in which the artist explores abstract marine forms based on reflection on organic nanoplastics and the use of waste materials.
Edgar Massegú receiving the award in the United Arab Emirates.
The work will be exhibited at this edition of the Rak Art Festival and can be visited until February 28. The exhibition is directed by Suqrat bin Bisher and curated by the Italian Alfio Tommasini, who has also been responsible for exhibitions at the Palau de la Virreina and the Barcelona Biennial of Contemporary Art. This award consolidates the international expansion of Massegú's work and places him among the Catalan artists with the most international projection at the moment.