On May 9, 2024, the XXI Fine Arts Prize of the ‘Xam’ Rotary Club Palma Ramon Llull was awarded to Francesca Martí at the Casal Solleric Museum in Palma de Mallorca. In the presence of the Mayor of Palma Jaime Martínez, the prize was officially presented to the artist by head of the Chamber of Commerce and art patron Sebastián Escarrer. The prize was awarded to Martí for her personal contribution to artistic life in Mallorca achieved through her «professionalism, seriousness and vital creative force».
During her acceptance speech at the Casal Solleric, Martí talked about how the presence of a common fly in her studio helped her to approach the representation of the human form in her art.
«With the fly, I arrived at the human being. Emotion, attraction, and sensuality. I made my first performances with artists from different fields, close friends, the fly and me. I believe that from this moment onward, a sense of transformation arose. I began to understand the importance of the feeling of freedom, to be able to express myself through my art.»
According to Martí: «Every idea that is born in me, is born out of passion and the curiosity for the unknown, from a desire to express, and to channel my ideas, readings and emotions. I share and transmit my personal vision of the essence of art, with all my concerns, dreams, beliefs, life and hope.»
Meanwhile in his speech, Sebastián Escarrer said that Martí has: «Transcended the limits of art to become a voice that gives explanations, that makes us feel and vibrate to the point that it even moves and transforms us. Her ability to navigate between Expressionism, Symbolism, Surrealism and Futurism, and to interrogate her different reference points to create her own language, reveals a constant search for the truth through art, a truth that is rooted in humanity and contemporary concerns.
While the eye of the camera has been an effective ‘alter ego’, Martí has continued to work with her hands, feeling the sculptural material from which her Dreamers and Believers have emerged. She uses graphite to draw her thoughts. In other words, Martí is not a prisoner of any language or resource. She simply chooses, combines and transforms them.»
Other attendees at the prize-giving ceremony included Pedro Vidal – General director of Culture of the Balearic Islands, Javier Bonet – head of the Culture Department of Palma City Council, David Barro – director of Es Baluard Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Palma, Michel Magnier – Honorary Consul to France, Pilar Ribal Simó – General Director of Patrimony of the City of Palma, businessman/foundation member Guillermo Dezcallar, artists Ñaco Fabré, Amador Magraner, Luis Maraver, Aina Pastor, Horacio Sapare and Mariana Vassileva, curator Jonathan Turner, and gallerists Gerhardt Braun, Bernat Rabassa and Johann Nowak.
