FOMAS Group Special Prize business for art | First prize | Arte Laguna Prize 21st edition

FOMAS Group Special Prize | Arte Laguna Prize 21st edition

First Prize
Tania Welz – Indra’s Weave: Co-creation

hand-knitted copper wire, electrochemical treatment

180 x 120 x 10 cm

2026

Tania Welz’s work stands out as the winner for its ability to translate the competition theme into a striking visual form, in which art, material, and industrial process find a particularly effective synthesis.
Through a large panel crafted entirely by hand from knitted copper wire, the artist makes the material’s journey from heat to form perceptible, transforming a gesture traditionally associated with textiles into a reflection on the world of metallurgy. Each weave contributes to the construction of a surface that appears simultaneously solid and fluid, evoking the transition from the energy of casting to the precision of the worked material.
Particularly significant is the choice of copper, employed in an unusual and innovative way. A material associated with industry and electrical conduction is reinterpreted as a light and transparent texture, capable of interacting with light and conveying the material’s diverse conditions throughout its transformation.
The suspended surface generates reflections and variations that recall the temperatures and tensions inherent in metalworking. This interpretation also includes a reference to the galvanization process: just as the treatment provides steel with new protection and a new surface identity, the interweaving of the wire gradually builds a complex and layered skin, the result of technical knowledge and precision execution.

The jury appreciated the work’s ability to combine material experimentation, innovation, and formal quality, offering a vivid and complete representation of the proposed theme. Due to the expressive power of the solution adopted and the originality of the use of the material, Tania Welz’s work was recognized as the entry that best interprets the competition.