The Pardon Prize

The Pardon Collection is proud to present the Pardon Prize at Art on Paper New York 2024, an award dedicated to recognizing the most innovative artists working with paper.

While the Pardon Collection is renowned for its focus on paper collage, it also embraces themes such as mixed media, assemblage, montage, ready-mades, and conceptual art. The Pardon Prize celebrates works that push the boundaries of these mediums, offering new perspectives and insights.

This award seeks to honor exceptional craftsmanship, creativity, and conceptual depth. The recipient will be selected from submissions by gallerists at the fair, with a focus on originality, execution, and the work’s ability to challenge and expand our understanding of the world around us.

Through the Pardon Prize, the Pardon Collection reaffirms its commitment to supporting artists who are at the forefront of contemporary art.

Click here for more information on the Pardon.

Photos by Wes Magyar

2024 Pardon Prize Recipient

We are pleased to announce Mau Samayoa as the recipient of the Pardon Prize at Art on Paper New York. While the Pardon Collection is renowned for its focus on paper collage, it also embraces themes such as mixed media, assemblage, montage, ready-mades, and conceptual art. The Pardon Prize celebrates works that push the boundaries of these mediums, offering new perspectives and insights.

Presented by Catalysta, Samayoa’s practice reimagines paper as a sculptural medium, transforming it into intricate, three-dimensional forms that resonate with the richness of his Salvadoran heritage and personal history. Through this innovative approach, his work engages with profound themes of identity, culture, and memory, delivering a powerful and tactile exploration of these subjects.

Born in El Salvador, Samayoa studied visual arts at the National University of Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and currently lives and works in Birmingham, UK. His meticulous, surgical-like techniques yield abstract paper structures that challenge and expand the possibilities of the medium. The Pardon Collection is honored to recognize Samayoa’s exceptional contribution to contemporary art through the acquisition of his work.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all the galleries that participated in the Pardon Prize, acknowledging the invaluable support you provide to artists and the vibrant field of paper-based practices.

Acquired works:
Mau Samayoa, Crimes of Courage and Fear II, 2024, soft pastel, colored pencil and wax on sculpted cotton paper, 22x15x2 inches
Mau Samayoa, Step Forward, 2024, sculpture with Fabriano Artistico 300gsm, 16.5×11.7×1.5 inches