Lúa Coderch, winner of the ARCO Antoni Vila Casas Award

The Vila Casas Foundation has awarded the ARCO Antoni Vila Casas Prize to Lúa Coderch (Iquitos, 1982) as part of the ARCO contemporary art fair, held last week in Madrid. This edition was the first in which the Catalan institution has actively participated, with a proposal that includes the acquisition of a work and a future exhibition of the artist at the Can Framis Museum.

The works awarded with this prize are Nunca sabes cuáles son las buenas noticias and Exhausted and Exuberant, two pieces that were part of the exhibition Escena, presented by Lúa Coderch at the Àngels Barcelona gallery . Through these creations, the artist proposes a profound reflection on the meaning of life and our relationship with everything around us. Both works share a common characteristic: the use of textiles as a means to convey a message that is personal and loaded with meanings.

In the case of Nunca sabes cuáles son las buenas noticias, Coderch addresses the difficulty of interpreting good news immediately. The artist seems to suggest that, often, the perspective needed to understand the true impact of what we consider positive requires time and an emotional distance that allows us to assimilate it in depth. On the other hand, Exhausted and Exuberant speaks to us of the contradictory energy that defines existence, caught between the extremes of exhaustion and exuberance. This work highlights the inner tensions that manifest themselves in our day-to-day lives, where life goes through a constant dialectic between exhaustion and euphoria.

Nunca sabes cuales son las buenas noticias, Lúa Coderch (2024). Pol Masip / Àngels Barcelona

Both works are articulated through a "slow and cumulative textile" technique, a procedure that Coderch uses to enhance the meditative aspect of his work. Coderch transforms textiles into a medium that speaks of introspection, time and emotions. The letters that give the works their title appear written on pink satin thread, creating a symbolic knot that relates to the same time that the artist needs to give shape to his ideas. With this award, the Vila Casas Foundation not only recognizes Coderch's work, but also highlights one of the most interesting voices in contemporary art.