The Queen Sofía Prize for Painting and Sculpture is one of the most prestigious awards in Spain and is endowed with 10,000 euros for a single work.
Queen Sofia has presided over the 58th edition of the award, organized by the Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors, in collaboration with Google. This year’s award went to the artist Cesar Orrico Mendez for his work titled “Night”. The award ceremony was held at the Casa de Vacas Cultural Center in Madrid’s Parque del Buen Retiro.
During the ceremony, Queen Sofía presented the award to Cesar Orrico Méndez and also handed out diplomas to the four other finalists. She then toured the exhibition of the finalist works, which featured almost 400 pieces from artists in Spain and other countries such as Mexico, Italy, and Germany.
This year’s exhibition included 428 paintings and 24 sculptures.
The award is decided on by a jury chaired by Jose Gabriel Astudillo Lopez, president of the Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors, and included members such as Tomas Paredes, art critic and AICA Awards Committee, Eduardo Naranjo, painter, sculptor, engraver and Academic of the Royal Academy of Arts and Letters of Extremadura, and Antonio Lopez, painter, sculptor, and Academic of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.
Queen Sofia has been a vocal supporter of the arts for many years.
