The Best Professional and Artistic Trajectory Award was given to the nationally and internationally recognized Valencian artist José María Yturralde.
The winners of the XII National and IX International Painting Contest ‘Miradas 2020‘ are already known. This morning the jury’s decision was officially announced, along with the presentation of the new virtual exhibition, which includes 33 art works. The hybrid event was led by María López Iglesias, executive president of the Alió Foundation and director of the Miradas Contest, who highlighted the importance of this biennial event in a year in which “the World Health Organization (WHO) focuses on reducing ocular pathologies and preventing blindness”. In addition, she thanked artists, sponsors and collaborators for supporting every edition of the contest, which has been existing for 22 years.
At the event, she was accompanied by Jorge Alió, the founder of the Alió Foundation and the Contest, who commented that “the objective is to promote and attract artists´ and society´s attention to the importance of taking care of vision and preventing blindness through art, without any restrictions on creativity”. The international dimension of the contest is reflected in the magazine of the American Society of Ophthalmology, which «took this contest as a reference and monthly publishes one of the works from ‘Miradas’ on its cover with a worldwide impact that reaches more than 25,000 ophthalmologists». At the same time, the general director of the Miranza Group Ramón Berra stated that «in Miranza, we pay attention to any talent, in this way we also take into account artistic talent, and that is why we support this type of initiative that fits perfectly with our values.»
The vice president and deputy of Culture of the Provincial Council of Alicante, Julia Parra, congratulated the award-winning artists, and said that “it goes far beyond culture, uniting art and health in order to raise public awareness of the importance of sight as a vital sense, and it makes people appreciate the work of hundreds of artists, many of whom are from Alicante”. Parra explained the cooperation carried out in the field of culture which made the creation of the Miradas catalog possible: “In this way, we want to show the most outstanding creations through a careful publication that reflects the beauty of this exhibition.».
20,000 EUROS WERE DISTRIBUTED IN AWARDS IN ORDER TO RECOGNIZE THE MOST COMMITTED TO VISUAL HEALTH ART.
The artistic contest of the Jorge Alió Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness, created in 1998, this year was held under the slogan ‘The art of vision’. The Best Professional and Artistic Trajectory award, sponsored by Grupo Miranza, was given to Valencian artist José María Yturralde, for being the greatest exponent of colour. This award is a recognition of his brilliant and long artistic career both at national and international levels. His acrylic painting on canvas entitled ‘Figura Imposible (Serie cuadrados)’ is one of the works from a series which is based on the square. It represents one of the most notable regular polygons due to its space properties and clear lines, which fill the work with a sense of organization, stability, firmness and security. Thus, this work evokes poetics, expression, and what is more important, emotion and passion, which underlie every artistic work.
In total, more than 20,000 euros have been distributed in awards. The Miradas 2020 Award, worth 4,000 euros, sponsored by Fundación Multiópticas, was given to Paulo Ayllapan for his work ‘Pintura postal nº39, César Callozo’ (oil on canvas), for being the one which best evokes the importance of vision. Rosario Simón Puerta, the representative of Fundación Multiópticas said “we believe that this initiative is very original and necessary if we want to raise public awareness of visual health through art». Moreover, The Fundación Jorge Alió Award, worth 3,000 euros, was given to Ana del Valle Ojeda for ‘The Call’ (oil on canvas), for being the artistic work that best represents human values in the prevention of blindness and eye diseases.
Furthermore, The Best Emerging Artist Award, worth 1,500 euros, sponsored by the University of Alicante wend to Francisco Manuel Cortes Pérez for ‘ Contaminación existencial’ (oil). The Functional Diversity Award, aimed at people with intellectual, sensory and physical disabilities, worth 1,500 euros and sponsored by International Ophthalmology Consulting, was given to Juan Luis Barud Dabrowska for ‘Ojo biónico’ (acrylic on canvas).
Finally, The Honourable Mention for the Best Composition, sponsored by Tienda del artista, was given to Marisa González Vicent for ‘El color está en el interior’ (digital painting); and The Honourable Mention for the Most Original Technique, sponsored by Artemiranda, went to Jorge Llopis Jordá for ‘La mirada oculta de la memoria’ (painting, mixed-ink technique, lacquer, varnish on PVC mount board).
ALICANTE PRESENTED THE LARGEST QUANTITY OF WORKS.
The IX International Painting Contest ‘Miradas 2020’, sponsored by OPHTEC, is presented in a form of a digital exhibition. In this way visitors can admire the winning work ‘Te veo’ (oil on canvas) by Natividad Pamies Diez from Crevillent; as well other finalist works: ‘ Inspiración ‘ (oil and acrylic on board) by Ana María Gomáriz Martínez from Murcia, and Pintando la mirada ‘ (acrylic on canvas) by José Luis López Saura from Madrid.
With regard to other participants, Joaquín Santo Matas, curator of the ‘Miradas 2020’ contest and member of the the Royal Academy of Valencian Culture, commented that «130 original pieces have been received from all the autonomous communities». There are 37 works from Alicante, 16 from Madrid, 9 from Murcia and 9 from Valencia, 4 from Barcelona and 4 from Cadiz. The online exhibition displays 33 works in total: the seven winners´ and 23 finalists´ works of the national contest, as well as the 3 works of the international contest.
The jury was chaired by the Art Director of the Juan March Foundation, Manuel Fontán, who stated on the Internet that «the quality of the works at the competition depends on the requirements of the jury. And in the current situation, in which artist is considered to be a non-essential profession, it is fundamental to maintain this type of competition». The panel of judges consisted of Juana María Balsalobre García, Ph.D. in History and expert in the museology of contemporary art; Juan García Sandoval, museologist, art critic and exhibition curator; Federico Lizón, architect, multidisciplinary artist and expert in new technologies and their application in art; Jesús Lozano Saorín, artist and ‘2014 Honorary Lifetime Achievement’ Prize winner; Begoña Martínez Deltell, gallery owner; Josep Perez i Tomas, PhD in Fine Arts and technical director of the Art Department at the University of Alicante; and Alfonso Sánchez Luna, PhD in Fine Arts and lecturer at the Miguel Hernández University.
AWARDS ‘MIRADAS 2020′
XII National Painting Contest ‘Miradas 2020′
— The Best Professional and Artistic Trajectory Award: Figura Imposible (Serie cuadrados) (acrylic painting on canvas) by José María Yturralde.
— The Miradas 2020 award: ‘Pintura postal nº39, César Callozo’ (oil on canvas) by Paulo Ayllapán
— The Fundación Jorge Alió’ award: ‘The Call’ (oil on canvas) by Ana del Valle Ojeda.
— The Best Emerging Artist Award, ‘Contaminación existencial’ (oil) by Francisco Manuel Cortes Pérez.
— The Functional Diversity Award: ‘Ojo biónico’ (acrylic on canvas) by Juan Luis Barud Dabrowska.
— The Honourable Mention for the Best Composition: ‘El color está en el interior’ (digital painting) by Marisa González Vicent.
— The Honourable Mention for the Most Original Technique: ‘La mirada oculta de la memoria’ (painting, mixed-ink technique, lacquer, varnish on PVC mount board) by Jorge Llopis Jordá.
IX International Painting Contest ‘Miradas 2020’
— Winning work: ‘Te veo’ (oil on canvas) by Natividad Pamies Diez.
— Finalist work: ‘Inspiración’ (oil and acrylic on board) by Ana María Gomáriz Martínez.
— Finalist work: ‘Pintando la mirada’ (acrylic on canvas) by José Luis López Saura.
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION ACCESS
