MIAMI, FLA.- PULSE Contemporary Art Fair announced Andrea Canepa as the winner of the 2014 Miami Beach PULSE Prize. Canepa is represented by Rosa Santos gallery (booth A1). The PULSE Prize is awarded directly to an artist of distinction who is being exhibited in a solo booth at the fair.

Canepa’s work combines drawing, sculpture and audiovisual installations that are unified in thematic blocks focused on daily scenes and behaviors. An untitled piece that is being exhibited by Rosa Santos and that has drawn much attention during PULSE Miami Beach is an installation of deconstructed flags from every South American country merged into a geometric composition by color. This stunning synchronization represents a breakdown of geopolitical barriers and offers a celebration of unity. Canepa studied Fine Art at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, where she also obtained an MFA in Visual Art and Multimedia.

“The Pulse Prize is central to the fair’s emphasis on celebrating artists and it provides an opportunity to directly contribute much-deserved resources to their practice,” notes Helen Toomer, the Director of PULSE Contemporary Art Fair. “Galleries that host solo booths have made a special commitment to the artists they’re representing and this is our way of recognizing that dedication.”

This year’s nominees included Andrea Canepa (Rosa Santos), David Magnusson (Pictura Gallery), Genevieve Chua (GUSFORD | los angeles), Jennifer Dalton (WINKLEMAN GALLERY), Jinny Yu (Art Mûr), Johannes Domenig (GALERIE FREY), John Mills (Rosamund Felsen Gallery), Ken Matsubara (MA2Gallery), Lothar Osterburg (Lesley Heller Workspace), Lisa Levy (Schroeder Romero), Maya Hayuk (CC Gallery), Mia Rosenthal (Gallery Joe), Michael Van den Besselaar (Black & White Gallery/Project Space), Natalia Arias (Nohra Haime Gallery), Russell Tyler (Ballast Projects), Tm Gratkowski (Walter Maciel Gallery) and Tom Fruin (Paul Loya Gallery).

Canepa will join the ranks of past Prize winners including Hassan Hajjaj, Duke Riley and Cristina de Middel.

PULSE Miami Beach remains open through the weekend with additional programming including a book signing with photographer Erwin Olaf at Wagner + Partner (booth B13) on Saturday at 3pm and Perspectives talks on Saturday (12pm and 3pm) and Sunday(12pm).