The COMEL Award 2024: “Aluminium, beneath the surface”

The COMEL Award 2024: “Aluminium, beneath the surface” now is over!

The COMEL Award 2024: “Aluminium, beneath the surface”: The COMEL Award 2024 this year titled “Aluminium, beneath the surface” has been recently announced for entries and invites all contemporary artists, aged 18 and above, of every European nationality, who use aluminum as the main and significant element in the creation of the artwork they intend to submit to the competition.

Short description

The COMEL Award 2024 this year titled “Aluminium, beneath the surface” has been recently announced for entries! Among the characteristics of aluminium is corrosion resistance, that is, the ability of this metal to resist the action of external agents. This happens because, in contact with oxygen, a film, a protective layer, is created on the surface of aluminium, which is thin and resistant. It is as if the metal puts in place a kind of defense mechanism, protection, integrity, to endure the weather and external aggression, in order not to lose its physical and chemical characteristics. Beneath the surface, aluminium remains itself and preserves its peculiarities. A natural process that can be said to be analogous to the reactions of human beings, who often, in order to defend themselves, mask their feelings, personal and true psychological and spiritual traits.

“Aluminium, beneath the surface,” starting from a specific property of this metal, wants to be an encouragement to aim at the heart of things, to express in art what is often hidden behind appearances, what leaks out, what is not immediately visible and delineable, what is hidden. Art after all by its nature is also forwarding into the invisible, probing the inner spaces of existence. The artists are invited to express an idea, a memory, a feeling, something that can be understood only by going deep inside: an invitation to use Art as a valuable means to externalize something one has inside, without using words but the “aesthetic gesture.”

Works, whether published or unpublished, created using any technique – painting, sculpture, design, photography, and installation – are admitted, provided they use aluminum as the main and significant element. Fundamental criteria for selection will be the quality, research, originality, and contemporaneity of the work.

A professional Committee in the field of art, will select 13 works, among all the submitted artworks. The thirteen works will be exhibited, at a date to be defined, at the gallery Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, via Neghelli 68, Latina, Italy, in a special dedicated exhibition for the selected artists and the Jury will choose among them the winner for the COMEL Award of Contemporary art 2024.

The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday 16 November 2024 as part of the exhibition.

Submission requirements:

➜ The maximum permitted size for participating works is 150 x 150 x 150cm. The work must be completely realized at the time of registration; projects, sketches, or 3D simulations of the works will not be accepted.

➜ The works nominated for the Prize must be the physical and intellectual property of the artist who presents them. The selected works, accompanied by all the necessary materials and detailed instructions, must arrive ready to be installed.

➜ The selection procedure will be performed on photographic images, so it is recommended for the submission, to send the material as exhaustive as possible.

The following information must be provided:

➜ series of 3 to 5 images of the work, full-length picture, taken from different perspectives (5 MB maximum size) and showing clearly the work with aluminium, with the indications of technical characteristics, the materials used, size, title and year of creation.

➜ a brief description of the artwork to be submitted.

➜ a brief curriculum vitae, biography and ‘artist statement’.

Who may enter?

There are no age limits, and it is open to all contemporary artists, aged 18 and above, of every European nationality, who use aluminum as the main and significant element in the creation of the artwork they intend to submit to the competition.

Prize:

The unique winning artist will be awarded the COMEL Jury Award 2024. The prize consists of a cash prize of € 3500. The winning artist will also be awarded a solo exhibition to be held at the Spazio COMEL Arte Contemporanea, located in via Neghelli, 68 – Latina. The publication of a catalogue of the exhibition is also included. The dates and conditions of the exhibition to be agreed in advance with the organization and however no later than the calendar year in which the prize has been held. The work will become part of the permanent collection.

The Jury also may signal, beyond the winner, some special mentions and/or prizes.