Catalan Claudia Pagès wins illy SustainArt Award dedicated to promising young artists

Catalan artist Claudia Pagès (Barcelona, 1990), represented by Àngels Barcelona Gallery, won the 18th illy SustainArt Prize, dedicated to promising young artists in contemporary art and promoted by illycaffè as part of the 44th edition of the ARCOmadrid International Art Fair.

The winning work consists of two creations that explore the memory of spaces through inscriptions and historical symbols found on ancient walls. The artist’s inspiration stems from the cisterns of Xàtiva, a place that suggested to her an investigation into the themes of history, water and memory, as well as the representation of protective spaces such as walls and castles and their relationship with time.

Claudia Pagès is distinguished by an artistic practice based on the use of handmade sheets of paper, which are transformed into complex constructions capable of evoking history. Her work originates from the connection between ancient paper mills and places where historical inscriptions are still visible. This connection takes shape in his works Muro de dos caras and Xàtiva, which are presented as filigree labyrinths.

A central element in his research is light, which, filtering from the inside of a box, reveals the hidden textures of memory, illuminating the stories enshrined in the paper. For the artist, this use of light symbolizes the need to bring the past to light to avoid its oblivion, highlighting the fragility of memory, just like that of paper.

The jury that selected the winner from 93 works by young artists from around the world and awarded the prize to Claudia Pagès was composed of Imma Prieto, director of Fundació Tàpies; Javier Díaz-Guardiola, ABC art critic and coordinator of the art section of ABC Cultural; Mariano Mayer, independent art curator; and Carlo Bach, artistic director of illy.

Claudia Pagès holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona and an MFA from the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam. Her work has been exhibited in prestigious international venues, including Manifesta 15, Barcelona (2024); IVAM, Valencia (2024); Sculpture Center, New York (2024); CA2M, Madrid (2023); Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona (2023); Tabakalera, Donostia (2022); Vleeshal, Middelburg (2022); MACBA, Barcelona (2022); CAPC, Bordeaux (2022); Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig (2021); and Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates (2018). Her book Més de dues aigües was published in Catalan by Empúries Narrativa in 2024, and a new volume with Wendy’s Subway will be released in 2025. In 2022 he received the Ojo Crítico Award for Visual Arts and participated in art residency programs at Gasworks, London (2017) and Triangle France, Marseille (2020). In March and April 2025 he will be in residence at EMPAC, Troy, USA. In 2025 her work will be exhibited at Chisenhale, London; INDEX, Stockholm; Mumok, Vienna; and in a group exhibition curated by Chus Martínez at the Art Sonje Center in Seoul, Korea.

Catalan Claudia Pagès wins illy SustainArt Award dedicated to promising young artists

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