Proyectos Ultravioleta Wins Frieze London Stand Prize 2024

Frieze London 2025 15–19 October 2025

Proyectos Ultravioleta in Guatemala City was awarded this year’s Frieze Gallery Stand Prize presented by Frieze London, which returned to Regent’s Park from 9 to 13 October 2024.

The gallery featured a dual presentation of paintings by Edgar Calel and historical miniatures by Rosa Elena Curruchich (1958–2005). Both Mayan Kaqchikel artists originate from San Juan Comalapa, Guatemala, and draw from Mayan customs and spirituality in their work.

‘The gallery presents a dialogue between a living artist and a historical practice, addressing economic exploitation and political struggle, in a poetic and lively way,’ the jury said.

New landscapes by Calel depict different sites in Guatemala, which he painted over in clay. Mountains loom over a village in Me Venden / Mani yi na besq´opij II (2024). The title, which translates to ‘They sell me / Don’t sell me’, is inscribed at the front and back of each work, referring to a remark his grandmother made, equating selling their land to losing autonomy.

This spirit of preservation was echoed in Calel’s installation for the 2023 Liverpool Biennial, (Ru k’ox k’ob’el jun ojer etemab’el (The Echo of an Ancient Form of Knowledge) (2021), comprising a fruit and vegetable offering to his ancestors. Tate acquired the piece under a shared custodianship agreement, acknowledging the Mayan tradition of communal ownership.

Between Calel’s works are tiny paintings by Curruchich, documenting daily life within her community and providing a view into Guatemalan artistic heritage. Notably, the works’ sizes enabled their transportation and conservation during the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996).

The jury gave a special mention to Galerie Poggi in Paris for their survey of works by photographer Dario Villalba, who ‘challenged the boundaries of photography and explored themes of the human condition’. Another mention went to Galleria Franco Noero in Turin for ‘an elegant display’ of works by Italian designer Martino Gamper.

Proyectos Ultravioleta started as an artist-run space in Guatemala City in 2009. Today, the gallery represents renown artists such as Swiss-Argentine painter Vivian Suter, the estate of her mother, Elisabeth Wild, and Palestinian artists Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme.

Last year, the award went to Kolkata gallery Experimenter for their presentation, Do You Know How to Start a Fire, featuring work by seven female artists, including Bani Abidi, Bhasha Chakrabarti, Biraaj Dodiya, Radhika Khimji, and Ayesha Sultana. —[O]

Main image: Exhibition view: Edgar Calel and Rosa Elena Curruchic, Proyectos Ultravioleta at Frieze London (9–13 October 2024). Courtesy Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City.