Madrid, August 1, 2023.- The Spanish illustrator Marcos Guardiola is the winner of the 14th edition of the Iberoamérica Illustra Catalog. He will receive a prize of 5,000 US dollars and, to promote the dissemination of his work, he will be the designer of the cover of the Catalog, in addition to having a prominent space within the exhibition that will be exhibited at the FIL Guadalajara from November 25 to November 3. December of this year.
The jury decided to award the Prize considering that “he is an excellent storyteller, with an experimental and different language, whose work stands out for its originality, its great use of color and capacity for representation, as well as for the symbolic breadth of the illustrations.”
A total of 673 illustrators from 17 Latin American countries participated in this edition (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela).
Platform to discover new Ibero-American illustrators
With more than a decade of existence, the Iberoamérica Illustra Catalog is a platform that publicizes the talent of Ibero-American illustrators. It is a very useful tool for publishers from all over the world to discover high-quality proposals, as well as a clear sample of what can be achieved by joining efforts in these times.
Of the 673 participating artists, Mexico was the country that had the most representation with 162 illustrators; Argentina followed with 111 and Spain with 103. The jury deliberated remotely and evaluated the proposals for two days. It was made up of professionals from the sector from different countries: Rodolfo Bolaños (Guatemala) and Manuel Rud (Argentina) representing FIL Guadalajara; Ayami Moriizumi (Japan) and Mario Dequel (Spain) on behalf of the SM Foundation. The criteria that were taken into account for the selection were the clarity of the concept of the works presented, the narrative quality, the originality, the risk of the proposal, as well as the technical solvency.
The ruling was announced yesterday afternoon, July 31, through the iberoamericailustra.com website and the delivery ceremony will take place on November 26 as part of the activities of the Guadalajara International Book Fair.
In this act, the jury also awarded special mentions to the illustrators Pere Ginard (Spain), Elena Hormiga (Spain), Jorge Mato “Ca_teter” (Uruguay), Leandro Ezequiel (Argentina) and Margarita Valdés (Chile).
About Marcos Guardiola (Maguma)
Marcos Guardiola Martín, (Madrid, 1977) known as Maguma, studied architecture, but soon discovered his vocation and commitment to image and illustration. A multidisciplinary, explorer, multifaceted and versatile artist, he trained at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid and at the UNAM in Mexico.
He is an architect by training and draftsman by passion. He began illustrating as a contributor to El País, where he learned much of what he knows about this wonderful work. Since then, he has worked with a large number of magazines and newspapers, designed posters, published picture books, painted murals, and given workshops and lectures. He has also won various awards and recognitions such as the Nami Concours Grand Prix in 2023 and 2019; he was selected at the Bologna Fair 2023 and 2022; in Iberoamérica Illustra from 2016 to 2019 —he received a mention in 2014—; at the Bratislava Biennale 2017. He Received the White Raven Award 2019, the APIM Prize 2021 and 2018; He obtained the 2016 Hummingbird Medal and a Special Mention at the 2013 Compostela International Award.
Her books have been published by publishers such as FCE, Lemon Publishing House, A Good Step, Amanuta Publishing House, Tara Books or Red Fox Books, among others.
He has published the following titles: La pobre viejecita (Editorial Amanuta, 2015), God of Money (Tara Books, 2017), A stormy day (A good pace, 2018), Fifteen occasions to make wishes on the street (Limonero, 2018 ), Roots of the Forest (Amanuta, 2021) and Happy Lucky Hans (Tara Books, 2021).
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