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The VIA Arts Prize

The Visual Ibero-American Arts Prize

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    • VIA 2020 SPECIAL EDITION
    • 2019 Winner’s Solo Show – Antonio Társis
    • People’s Choice Award Voting

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The VIA Arts Prize invites you to reflect and disc The VIA Arts Prize invites you to reflect and discuss Latin American art in 2021: keep an eye out for our public programme launching next week, 12 January. #viaartsprize #art #artsprize #contemporaryart #latinamerica #latinamericanart #artdiscussion #publicprogramme
We are delighted to announce that the winner of th We are delighted to announce that the winner of the VIA 2020 People’s Choice Award is Lino with “Mi Cerro (The Hill)“, inspired by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez and the Op Art movement. Lino’s hill is El Cerro El Ávila in Caracas. According to the artist, it is “an imposing mountain that serves as a shelter for the City of Caracas, Venezuela, but also in recent years it has become a symbol of hope for those Venezuelans who have emigrated seeking a better quality of life. ‘Mi Cerro (The Hill)’ is a chromatic composition inspired by pieces of Venezuelan kinetic art, used as a reference and visual tool, which together with the graphic representation of El Cerro El Ávila, pay homage to one of the greatest exponents of Venezuelan art and all those brave Venezuelans who are found around the world, hoping one day to return home”. Lino (@exiliarte) received 221 votes out of a total of 1624 members of the public who chose their favourite artwork. Congratulations to the artist, and thank you to everyone who voted for the People’s Choice! #viaartsprize #art #latinamericanart #opart #kineticart #winner #artsprize #carloscruzdiez #painting #emergingartist #onlineexhibition
You can vote for your favourite shortlisted artwor You can vote for your favourite shortlisted artwork at viaartsprize.org/peoples-choice-award-voting until the end of day today, Friday, 11 December. The winning artist will receive a cash prize and partake in the winner’s joint exhibition at the Embassy of Brazil’s Sala Brasil in 2021. The results will be announced on Friday, 18 December. Please bear in mind you can only vote once. #viaartsprize #onlineexhibition #artcompetition #art #emergingartists #artprize
MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 Leticia Valverdes (b. MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 Leticia Valverdes (b. 1972 in Brazil) won third place with her photography series “Dear Ana Saudade” about her journey back to her Grandmother’s motherland. In her expedition to the village of Mundão, in Central Portugal, Valverde invited locals to write postcards to her late grandmother Ana and play the fictional Portuguese friends she believed she had while dying with Alzheimer’s in Brazil. Through performance, fiction and playfulness, the artist created a parallel story of a life her grandmother did not live. Each villager enacted a role in the unwritten play of her life. Valverdes’s photos explore migration, poverty, memory and death, always permeated by the deep feeling of saudade that links the Brazilian and Portuguese psyche. Valverdes obtained her BA in Fine Art and Photography from the London Metropolitan University. She was the recipient of the Ian Parry scholarship in 1999, and won Portrait of Britain in 2018, amongst other awards. Her work has been featured in a number of group and solo shows in the UK and abroad (Photographers Gallery, Proud Galleries in the UK, the Museum of Image and Sound in SP), and published in various magazines including The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Saturday Telegraph, Marie Claire UK, Dazed & Confused, Time Out, Republica, Colors, Independent on Sunday, and the British Journal of Photography. #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #winner #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #photography #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart
MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 Paulina Figueroa Gard MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 Paulina Figueroa Garduño (b. 1991 in Mexico) was the second prizewinner with her piece “Jamaicón” (engraving, screenprint on paper). The title is the word used in Mexico for homesickness. In a dialogue between Figueroa Garduño’s birthplace and London, where she currently lives, the artist adapted the unique icons used in the Mexico City Metro (STC) to two main lines of the London Underground, Central and Piccadilly. In the 1960's, Mexican stations were assigned a corresponding graphic symbol, helping tourists and those who cannot read navigate public transport. Figueroa Garduño created new drawings for the London stations based on their names and history, which helped her get to know the new city and feel more integrated. Figueroa Garduño completed her BA in Communication and Filmmaking at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, and received a Photography diploma from the Academia de Artes Visuales in Mexico City which included semesters abroad in the Camberwell College of Arts in London and the Neue Schule für Fotografie in Berlin. The artist obtained her MFA degree from Goldsmiths, University of London. Her recent exhibitions include the London Grads Show 2020 at Saatchi Gallery and “It’s Waining Towards New Moon” at Ben Oakley Gallery in London. #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #winner #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #engraving #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart
MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 José García Oliva ( MEET THE WINNERS - VIA 2020 José García Oliva (b. 1995 in Venezuela) won first place with his aluminium, steel and copper sculpture “A Call (Un Toque)“. The artist’s inspiration for his piece came from childhood memories of growing up in Caracas, and the peculiar sound of the bells welded to the handle of an ice-cream trolley on a Sunday afternoon. The bell-ringing is a call to the community, an invite to a public gathering, charged also with catholic symbology which permeates the Latin American culture. García Oliva intended to replicate the sound of the bell, allowing visitors to interact with the work and ring for nostalgia as a tool to ‘social connectedness’, in a call for unity, especially to those who have migrated and long for their home countries. José García Oliva holds a MA in Visual Communication from the Royal College of Art, London and a BA in Fine Arts from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid. His past exhibitions include The Design Museum in London (2020), BOZAR in Brussels (2020), and the VIA Arts Prize 2019, where Oliva was awarded the People’s Choice Award by public vote. #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #winner #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #sculpture #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart
We are thrilled to announce the three winners of V We are thrilled to announce the three winners of VIA 2020, chosen by our jury members: José García Oliva, Paulina Figueroa Garduño and Leticia Valverdes. Head to viaartsprize.org to see their award-winning pieces at our online exhibition! #viaartsprize #contemporaryart #sculpture #engraving #photography #artevenezolano #artemexicano #artebrasileira #latinamericanart #winnerannouncement #art
“The work submitted is a sculptural Tryptic insp “The work submitted is a sculptural Tryptic inspired by the mural paintings of the church of São Tiago de Valadares, in Baião, Portugal. The images painted on the walls of the church are from the 15th century and represent odd angels and fascinating creatures: a cynocephalus devil, a two-faced animal with two horns, and a black bird with the head of a rooster and the beak of a goose. There is no oficial interpretation for the images on the wall – generally it has been linked to ideas of purgatory and hell. The existence of these apocalyptical animals beside angels and saints fascinates me. I wonder how the visual universe of hell is created and the way that evil is portrayed through time. I’m interested in the artificiality of these images, their inner world of dreams and nightmares in contradiction with their comical, almost cartoonish, look. I like to interpret them as a personification of evil, evil as the unknown; the animal that was never seen, but might exist, somewhere in the world of invisible things. For this artwork I wanted to show only the ‘debris’ of the reference images. The monoprints are made initially by painting onto glass, and then transferred to the linen. This process allows for the re-transformation of the painted image, pressed and smudged by force.” “TRÍPTICO DE ANDAS” by Teresa Arêde is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #photography #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“Candomble’s music and movement are the starti “Candomble’s music and movement are the starting point for the reunion of a Brazilian artist based in London with his roots and his mother culture. The many visits to the sacred ground in Bahia, caused Guilherme to exercise a foreigner’s gaze at the same time he dived into his memories and tried to understand this culture as his own. Duality itself is a hallmark of this work, which finds relations and counterpoints in all its aspects. Through the fluidity of the Rodopio, the spin of the trance, the artist finds traces of the audiovisual practice, his craft, in the materiality of the analog photography, his passion. Through the ritual, there is a connection between Brazil and Africa, Bahia and London. While submerging in his past and reflecting on his present condition, he sees several possible dimensions, whether real or dreamlike. Although it seems impossible to mold these diverse dimensions in one image, in an ideal support, the encounter with the fabric seems to favor the authorial and respectful language with which Guilherme addresses the sacred. The materialization of this subjective glance is made through the printing of two or more images, since we are talking about multiple exposures as well, on fabric. The two layers represent the conscious and the unconscious, the material and the spiritual, the earthly and the divine. Raw cotton, heavier and more natural, transmits with its texture the dimension of ancestry. The voile, lighter and transparent, the flight, the smoke, the spiritual, and the possibilities of hope, a feeling everyone brings to visit the home of the saints.” “RODOPIO” by Guilherme Sussekind Bailey is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #photography #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“Inspired by the exquisite daylight captured wit “Inspired by the exquisite daylight captured with a limited palette in the paintings by Valencia artist Joaquin Sorolla I last year traveled to the island of Mallorca in the hope I could also experience the natural beauty of a Spanish landscape. I was not disappointed. The island is an artist’s dream with a potential painting on every corner! My painting shows a small part of a wonderfully picturesque fishing village called Cala Figuera which is situated on the south east corner of the island. This charming hamlet consisting of small dwellings that cling to the waters edge is ‘living’ with residents going about their daily tasks.” “BOATS, MALLORCA, SPAIN” by John Bell is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #painting #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“This work reveals a link between the displaceme “This work reveals a link between the displacement of Latinx people from the Elephant and Castle shopping centre to a larger history of colonisation within Latin America. The work captures this important moment in time for Latinx people in the UK and reminds us of the intergenerational trauma that exists historically.” “ELEPHANT AND CASTLE” by Studio Lenca is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #photography #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“A potato skin avatar seems to find itself in a “A potato skin avatar seems to find itself in a kind of digital purgatory trying to maintain equilibrium while interpreting Lucky’s character in the absurd theatre play ‘Waiting for Godot’ written by Samuel Becket at the end of 1940. Becket left a clause in his will stating that only ‘men’ can give life to the characters of his play. The avatar, the setting, the script, the sound of an electric oven temporizer, a computer’s female voice reading the script, a women with potato skin, the green landscape ready to be edited and changed for any location, are some of the symbols present; symbols with a particular historical narrative that attempt to transit their most profound uncertainties by creating a dialogue within a digital globalized world. The work works on many levels, making reference in this historical context to feminist movements from the 70’s and ‘Ni una menos’ in the present time Victor Grippo, an Argentinian artist and chemist who in the 70’s made a series of works called ‘Analogies’ in which (between lots of other tangents) he used potatoes as a symbol ‘to speak of…’ As Grippo, I use elements that within a conceptual collage have a conversation attempting to find a sense of purpose in a pause that seems to have turned into a constant present asking for a new reading.” “GODOT EN LA ERA DIGITAL II” by Cynthia Carllinni is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #videoperformance #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“My recent paintings, including ’Parole in Lib “My recent paintings, including ’Parole in Libertà’, have presented the viewer with a God’s eye view of a geometric landscape, overlaid by a physical, painterly language of unknown origin. The creation of these overwhelming and ambiguous images is heavily influenced by two key Argentinians: Jorge Luis Borges and Xul Solar. ‘Parole in Libertà’ comes within a series of work that took, as its starting point, the safety information sheet found within a Kinder Egg, and the interaction of languages within it. The work then quickly evolved to the creation of totally new languages – and characters – as a way of exploring my highly idiosyncratic fascinations and my relationship with them. As language – and all that it symbolises – has become increasingly important in my paintings, I have become more and more intrigued by Solar’s invented new universal languages: ‘Neo Creole’ and ‘Pan Lengua’. Moreover, I am fascinated by his incorporation of the symbols associated with these alongside geometric imagery and visual elements from diverse cultures within his board games. Like my paintings, these ‘Panajedrez’, ‘Panjuego’ and ‘Ajedrez Criollo’ games operate like closed systems or Borgesian worlds. Borges was, famously, a master of compression and able to create whole worlds and infinite spaces within the pages of his short stories. As mentioned, ‘Parole in Libertà’ uses the isometric grid as a background in order to explore the Borgesian idea of the infinite. This geometry, free from the usual pictorial constraints of horizons or perspectives, can be potentially extended into infinity in any direction beyond the edge of the canvas. When looking, one becomes aware that only a small section of a much larger whole is being viewed at any one time. Borges regarded Solar not only as a collaborator and interlocutor but also as a source of inspiration.” “PAROLE IN LIBERTÀ” by Michael Coppelov is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist
“The inspiration for this work is partly the cur “The inspiration for this work is partly the current context in which we live day today and partly a pre-Hispanic document known as the Dresden codex. The current context is an interpretation of the need to redefine what house means. What does home mean? Recent times have been characterised by the disruption of various concepts in everyday life: health, work, personal economy, interpersonal relationships, travel etc. Each person’s reality varies in many aspects. The answers to the questions may vary according to the socio-cultural aspects of each individual. The question of what house means arises after the first months of confinement due to the pandemic. Fortunately I can speak of a space where I live. But there are many cases where everything changes. Some time ago, dictionaries were one of the sources to consult to find a meaning. The Internet came to change the appearance of information sources. The pandemic is another change to the approach and use of the co-dependency of online life. The second area of inspiration comes after reading about the Dresden Codex, which was created by the Mayans in Central America in 1200 AD, and the content and interpretation given to it. I see it as a very important document where areas of history are discussed as well as astronomical tables; it is a kind of dictionary-calendar of that time. The work that I present is a part of a search for meaning in the world as it is today. I use paints and textures that resonate with the content of the Codex, where astronomical tables and mentions of torrential rains are discussed.” “EL REFLEJO” by Francisco Garcia is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #mixedmedia #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“Jamaicón is the name Mexicans give to homesick “Jamaicón is the name Mexicans give to homesickness. In Mexico, each metro stations have visual signs, these are used so that tourists or people who can’t read are able to navigate through it. They were created in the ’60s and are unequivocally Mexican. Every sign has a story behind it that relates to the name of each station, to the history of the city itself. Two years ago I moved to London, and one way to cope with homesickness and adapt to a new environment was to translate one city into the other. So I copied the Mexican visual signs and translated them into the Piccadilly and Central Line (zone 1 stations). Researching the names and history behind the tube stations, I felt less foreign and closer to this new city.” “JAMAICÓN” by Paulina Figueroa Garduño is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #engraving #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“The starting point for this painting and much o “The starting point for this painting and much of my recent work is to be found in tapume (fencing), which is made from repurposed advertising boards which I walked past daily in the area I spend much of my time in Brazil. The obsolete advertising boards are placed as fencing in no particular order, ’mashing up ’the original messages leading to new meanings and interpretations. The derelict boards can serve as symbols of decline and ideas of smaller local companies being broken up through by outs from larger corporations which lead me to consider larger issues such as globalisation and the effects of Neo-Colonialism on local commerce and culture. The painting ‘Camouflage’ is dissected with a sharp downward pointing geometric shape. This shape is one half of the paving design to be found in many of Sao Paulo’s pavements. This shape is a recurring element in my work. (image demonstrating an example of this attached). It speaks of identity. It is very identifiable with Sao Paulo as are the curvy waves of Copacabana in Rio. I am interested in the way symbols are imprinted into the consciousness and the associations made from them. I consider these ideas in my work, against the rich tropical backdrop of the Brazilian landscape and seek to harmonise the two apparent opposites of natural beauty and the scars of human exploitation.” “CAMOUFLAGE” by Richard Hoey is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #painting #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“Our galaxy, The Milky Way, crosses the night sk “Our galaxy, The Milky Way, crosses the night sky as a belt of soft lights. Dark River I is a sculptural work that maps, or mirrors this celestial entity within the gallery using one largest images ever made of its central areas. Obtained with the VISTA survey telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, this huge picture is 108,200 by 81,500 pixels and contains nearly nine billion pixels. Dark River I presents a 9 x 3m section of this image but sculpts it into nebulous formations against mirrors. This mapping or mirroring references the beliefs of the Inca’s, whose empire at its height stretched from Ecuador to Chile. “Mayu,” (the Milky Way) was a life-giving river in the heavens with its earthly counterpart – the Urubamba River in the Sacred Valley, high up in the Andes Mountains (now in Peru). In the absence of artificial light pollution the Milky Way is a natural light source so bright, that ancient cultures could navigate by it. Today its light is no longer visible to one third of humanity, resulting in a ‘cultural loss of unprecedented magnitude’[1] The fabric-like quality of the printed and manipulated print also references South American textile art and the ‘kené’ or sacred designs of indigenous tribes. These tribes whose ‘geometric designs connected the universe in a continuous tissue – a primordial reality in which the planes of existence were once unified and whole’. Mirrors can be highly scientific and are used as the primary light gathering component within most major reflecting telescopes – such as VISTA – to form our images of the heavens. They are also frequently encountered as illusory objects in folklore and fiction.” “DARK RIVER I” by Julie F Hill is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #sculpture #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“My work was inspired by a filmed piece of chore “My work was inspired by a filmed piece of choreography by Portuguese born Londoner, Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet, Marcelino Sambé. The film & choreography was created in response to the death of George Floyd. It was posted on Instagram via The Royal Opera House, London, on the 1st June 2020, during the UK Covid-19 lockdown and growing Black Lives Matter protest. I started this series on #blackouttuesday, an Instagram based response to the Black Lives Matter protests. I didn’t feel comfortable with posting a black tile image, I wanted to connect and create. I blacked out my A2 cartridge paper with charcoal, then documented the stages of the tonal drawing emerging, drawing from stills of Marcelino Sambé’s choreography. My images started to grow and mount up to create a larger scale work, that focused on layered looking, sustained meditations on held moments; that build narrative. I was introduced to drawing from film at the Royal Drawing School, and extended this practice to drawing from theatre and live performances in long unfurling concertina sketchbooks. As lockdown forced the Royal Opera House & other venues to close, I started looking online to their live-streams to work from. It was through these performances I discovered the work of Marcelino Sambé, and his cultural heritage. Recently, Sambé wrote about his experience returning to Portugal, in these difficult times and reflecting on the knowledge that he had gathered about black history there.” “I CAN’T BREATHE, MARCELINO SAMBE, NINE STILLED MOMENTS” by Vanessa Lawrence is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #drawing #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“Whole worlds die as human necessities and inten “Whole worlds die as human necessities and intentions shift, and new scenes, traditions, and beautiful objects are born. But, no matter how fascinating each generation’s exploration series makes for itself, it’s still difficult to watch the past disappear, taking with it pieces of us.There is a tendency in most of us to try to stop time, to revisit the past by collecting souvenirs we hold onto as a child would cling to an old toy. We cherish objects that tell us of individuals that we once shared moments with and loved, and we add many kinds of artefacts to our collection that we associate with a history or way of life that we want to see perpetuated in one way or another. I have recently encountered objects by Mestre Vitalino, who made figurines reflecting on the first half of twentieth century, of Pernambuco, Brazil. His figures are inspired by popular beliefs, in scenes from the rural and urban life, in rituals and in the imagination of the population of the Brazilian northeastern hinterland. While he passed in 1963, his figures are still an influence of the work of many craftsmen of the region, who, like Vitalino, lovingly create work informed by a part of the world where the Iberian culture fused with the great indigenous civilisation that already existed there.” “O CICLO DA VIDA DO MESTRE VITALINO (THE CYCLE OF LIFE OF MESTRE VITALINO)” by Pati de Souza Leão is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #drawing #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
“‘El Cerro El Ávila’ is an imposing mountai “‘El Cerro El Ávila’ is an imposing mountain that serves as a shelter for the City of Caracas, Venezuela, but also in recent years it has become a symbol of hope for those Venezuelans who have emigrated seeking a better quality of life. El Cerro is a chromatic composition inspired by pieces of Venezuelan kinetic art, specifically those of the master Carlos Cruz-Diez, used as a reference and visual tool, which together with the graphic representation of “El Cerro El Ávila”, pay homage to one of the greatest exponents of Venezuelan art and all those brave Venezuelans who are found around the world, hoping one day to return home.” “MI CERRO (THE HILL)” by Lino is one of our 30 shortlisted works. Visit our viewing rooms at viaartsprize.org/exhibition #viaartsprize #art #artinspiration #finalist #shortlisted #emergingartist #onlineexhibition #contemporaryart #painting #emergingartistplatform #lontonartscene #iberoamericanart #callforartists
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Timetable

15 July 2020
Call for entries opens

27 September 2020
Call for entries closes

21 October 2020
Pre-selection results published

2 November 2020
Online exhibition opens and People's Choice Award voting begins

2 December 2020
First, second and third prizewinners announced

18 December 2020
People's Choice Award winner announced

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