comel award 2026: aluminium future intertwinings

Aluminium has long been regarded as the material of the future. The artistic avant-gardes of the twentieth century embraced it as a symbol of modernity, speed, and transformation. Today it is ubiquitous—present in everyday life, in advanced industrial sectors, and even in space technologies. Light yet strong, adaptable and capable of taking on countless forms and reuses, aluminium embodies a time in constant evolution, suspended between tradition and innovation, research, experimentation, and interdisciplinary dialogue.

In a complex and unstable present, aluminium becomes a symbol of transformation itself. The future—intertwined and built day by day—may appear fragile or unpredictable; yet it is precisely this openness that makes it a space of possibility. It is not only what we fear, but what we can imagine, improve, and build together: a shared path in which uncertainty becomes research, encounter, and the creation of new worlds.

For the thirteenth edition, artists are invited to engage with the theme “Future Intertwinings”, interpreting aluminium as both material and language capable of narrating connections, transformations, and unexpected possibilities. Works may explore the present and the future as spaces of growth and encounter, as open trajectories where art becomes a tool for dialogue, imagination, and shared construction.