Arte Laguna Prize and FOMAS Group are proud to reveal the three artists who won the Special Awards established as part of the 21st edition of the international Open Call. Tania Welz, Paulina Montes, and Soukayna Fall were chosen from a highly competitive pool of applications submitted by artists from around the world, standing out for the originality, quality, and artistic vision expressed in their work.
Through its partnership with Arte Laguna Prize, FOMAS Group reinforces its dedication to fostering cultural exchange and creating new opportunities for emerging and established artists, demonstrating how industry, technology, and creativity can come together to generate lasting value.
124 artists, 20 different countries, 3 winners
The Jury would like to extend its sincere appreciation to the 124 artists from 20 different countries who took part in this international competition, developed in partnership with Arte Laguna Prize and promoted as part of the celebrations for FOMAS Group’s 70th anniversary.
The remarkable quality of the entries, together with the diversity of creative approaches and technical experimentation, made the evaluation process both stimulating and demanding. The submitted works offered a wide range of interpretations of the theme of material transformation, exploring the journey from raw matter to finished form through artistic perspectives that connected craftsmanship, technology, and innovation.
The winning works were chosen following a thorough assessment of their artistic merit, technical execution, and ability to present a distinctive and compelling interpretation of the competition brief. Particular attention was given to originality, coherence of vision, and the capacity to translate complex ideas into meaningful visual experiences.
The Jury would like to thank every participating artist for their commitment, creativity, and contribution. Their talent and dedication have played a fundamental role in making this initiative a valuable opportunity for dialogue between art, innovation, and industrial culture, further strengthening the connection between the creative world and the values that have guided FOMAS Group for the past seventy years.
First Prize
Tania Welz – Indra’s Weave: Co-creation
Indra’s Weave: Co-creation, 2026
180 x 120 x 10 cm
Hand-knitted copper wire, electrochemical treatment
Awarded First Prize, Indra’s Weave: Co-creation by Tania Welz impressed the Jury for its powerful interpretation of the competition theme and its unique ability to connect artistic research with material innovation.
The artwork consists of a large hand-crafted panel made from intricately knitted copper wire, transforming an industrial material into a refined visual language. Through this process, Welz explores the transformation of matter, making visible the passage from raw metal to finished form. The work creates a dialogue between traditional textile techniques and the world of metallurgy, revealing how craftsmanship and industrial knowledge can coexist within a single creative expression.
A particularly distinctive aspect of the project is its innovative use of copper. Commonly associated with manufacturing and technological applications, the material is reimagined as a delicate, semi-transparent structure capable of capturing and reflecting light. The resulting surface changes according to the viewer’s perspective, evoking the energy, heat, and tension that characterize metalworking processes.
The layered network of woven wire also recalls concepts associated with industrial treatments such as galvanization, where metal acquires new properties and a renewed surface identity. In Welz’s work, each interlaced element contributes to building a complex skin that embodies precision, technical expertise, and continuous transformation.
The Jury particularly valued the artwork’s originality, material experimentation, and strong visual impact. By combining contemporary artistic language with references to industrial production and metallurgy, Indra’s Weave: Co-creation offers a compelling representation of the competition theme and stands out as the work that most effectively captures the connection between art, innovation, and the transformation of materials.
Second Prize
Paulina Montes – The Shape of Cooling
The Shape of Cooling, 2026
270 x 130 cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Paulina Montes’s The Shape of Cooling received second prize for its compelling exploration of transformation, capturing a crucial stage in the life of metal: the cooling process. This suspended moment, when the material is no longer molten yet not fully stabilized, becomes the focus of a powerful visual narrative about change, memory, and permanence.
Created in acrylic on canvas and presented as a triptych, the artwork guides the viewer through a transitional state of matter. Rather than depicting metal in its origin or final form, Montes concentrates on an intermediate phase marked by sedimentation, dispersion, and the lingering traces of energy. It is a moment in which the material has left behind the fluidity of intense heat but has not yet reached the smooth, solid surface associated with completion.
Through layers, transparencies, and subtle erosions, the artist evokes the physical and visual effects left by cooling. The surfaces appear to preserve the imprint of forces that have diminished but not disappeared, transforming the canvas into a space where transformation remains visible. The use of acrylic glazes and layered applications reinforces this sensation of controlled instability, suggesting a material still undergoing change.
A particularly striking element is the intense line of color that traverses the three panels. Acting like a residual trace of thermal energy, it gradually fragments and dissipates, symbolizing the passage from heat to stillness. Alongside this chromatic gesture, delicate geometries and sedimented forms evoke the memory of the industrial process, leaving behind permanent marks of transformation.
The jury praised Montes for focusing on the often-overlooked phase between beginning and end—a fragile state in which matter still bears witness to its own evolution. For the excellence of her pictorial research, the coherence of her conceptual approach, and her ability to make the cooling process visible as an experience of metamorphosis, memory, and material transformation, The Shape of Cooling was awarded second prize.
Third Prize
Soukeyna Fall – Forging Dynamics
Forging Dynamics, 2026
200 x 300 cm
Digital artwork printed on aluminium
Forging Dynamics was awarded third prize for its original interpretation of material transformation, offering a perspective that invites viewers to experience the process from within the material itself. Through a compelling visual language, the work reveals the invisible forces that shape matter as it evolves, making complex industrial and physical phenomena tangible and accessible.
Created as a digital artwork and printed on aluminum, the piece draws inspiration from the structures of metal alloys and the relationships formed between their elements during transformation processes. Interconnected forms attract, repel, and reorganize themselves across the composition, evoking the molecular dynamics generated by heat, pressure, and mechanical stress during forging and metalworking operations.
The artwork’s greatest strength lies in its ability to convey transformation as an ongoing process rather than a completed event. While the composition appears balanced and carefully constructed, it retains a sense of internal tension and movement. The forms seem suspended between union and separation, suggesting a system that continues to evolve and where new configurations remain possible.
This dynamic quality is reinforced by the rhythmic repetition of modular elements and by the delicate balance between geometric order and controlled motion. The result is a visual reflection on matter as a living, adaptive system—one in which every arrangement represents only a temporary stage within a broader cycle of change and development.
The aluminum surface further enhances the conceptual connection to metallurgy and industrial production, creating a dialogue between medium and subject matter. Through this thoughtful integration of material, composition, and concept, the work transforms scientific and industrial processes into a compelling artistic experience.
The jury particularly appreciated the artist’s ability to shift the viewer’s perspective inside the material itself, revealing the relationships and forces that drive its evolution. For its originality, compositional quality, and strong alignment with the competition theme, Forging Dynamics was awarded third prize.
