The Radar: Lucas Dupuy, Kenia Almaraz Murillo and Paula Santomé

Lucas Dupuy

Lucas Dupuy’s art weaves together themes of language, form and architecture, blending the stark dynamics of Brutalist structures with the organic tension found in nature. His works, which pulse with a subtle anxiety and sentimentality, explore how fleeting, abstract forms interact with and redefine physical space. Through energetic compositions and a sometimes ghostly color palette, Dupuy captures the tension between man-made constructs and natural landscapes, creating a visually engaging dialogue on the coexistence of order and chaos.

Age: 32

Location: London, UK

Last dream you had: I don’t really remember many honestly, but the last one was a stress dream about painting I think haha

Favourite exhibition: Martin Wong at Camden Arts Centre last year

Favourite object you own: A CD copy of my fave album ever, Midtown 120 Blues by DJ Sprinkles

Favourite art-world Instagram account: @peterhalley

Favourite movie: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

Favourite artwork: It changes all the time, but currently it’s Blue Planet Sky by James Turrell. At the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan, I sat and watched the clouds go by for an hour or so, it was lush

Loves: Music

Hates: No music

End-of-year goals: To read and listen more

Kenia Almaraz Murillo

Bolivian artist Kenia Almaraz Murillo merges Andean traditions with urban Parisian influences, creating wall-mounted sculptures that blend indigenous South American yarns, recycled objects, and LED lights. Drawing on Bolivian carnival costume embroidery and ritual items like corn and amulets, Kenia’s sculptures narrate themes of ancestral legacy, diasporic identity and Andean cosmovision. Her pieces are populated by animals and spirit figures from pre-Columbian folk tales, given life through reclaimed car bumpers and lit motorbike parts.

Age: 30

Location: Paris, France

Last dream you had: I saw a friend of mine wearing an elephant costume. He was dancing inside an Asian restaurant

Favourite exhibition: I would say Bill Viola’s solo exhibition at the Grand Palais in 2014. It changed my ideas of space and immersion. I loved how he worked with slow motion and the elements (water, fire, etc…)

Favourite object you own: A red jacket that my mum knitted herself. I love to wear it because she lives in Bolivia and it makes me feel like we’re together when I wear it

Favourite art-world Instagram account: @bluewhaleshub

Favourite movie: I was amazed by Melancholia by Lars Von Trier. Every time I think of this movie I feel anxious but filled with a sense of beauty. It’s hard to watch but I love every moment

Favourite artwork: It is not very original but I will go for a Mark Rothko. His sense of colour and vibration has changed my way of thinking about art. It was my first big inspiration back when I was a student in 2015 at the Beaux Arts de Paris

Loves: Animals, tomatoes, Bolivian sopa de mani, laughing, dancing, sleeping

Hates: When I don’t sleep enough and when I have to run to catch the metro

End-of-year goals: To be healthy, not do too many nights of work and to prepare for my next trip to Bolivia

Paula Santomé

Originally from Spain and based in Basel, Paula Santomé works across disciplines to explore themes of resistance, resilience and personal experience, addressing the struggles of a generation challenging oppressive structures. Through drawing, relief and sculpture she examines the tension between the ideal and the real, using traditional and contemporary techniques to reveal society’s complex contradictions. In recent works, Santomé employs narrative as a powerful tool to challenge the status quo and imagine transformative possibilities.

Age: 30

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Last dream you had: Brain surgery in a basement

Favourite exhibition: Hmmm… still to be seen

Favourite object you own: Moka pot

Favourite art-world Instagram account: @yyyymmdd_contemporary

Favourite movie: Holy Motors by Leos Carax, 2012

Favourite artwork: I’m gonna shit and piss and cry and piss in my mouth because soft and wet hasn’t cum out yet by Aline Bouvy, 2022-2023

Loves: The ocean, river, rain, parties

Hates: Olives, doing laundry

End-of-year goals: Success