CARLOS BUNGA WINS III INTERNATIONAL PAINTING PRIZE
The expanded painting contest
Artistic director: Paco Barragán
Shortlisted artists and winner exhibited until 21st January at
Museo de Bellas Artes de Castellón
Avenida Hermanos Bou
12003 Castellon, Spain
Carlos Bunga (Portugal) wins 3rd Castellón Painting Prize 2006 of 60.000 (75.000 $ USA)
The Castellón County Council (Spain) is delighted to announce that the winner of the III International Painting Prize is Carlos Bunga from Portugal with the work Untitled (2006), 250x350cm, a site-specific installation with pressed cardboard, wrapping tape, and paint.
The winner was decided by this years jury, consisting of Franz Ackermann, artist, Barry Schwabsky, writer and art critic, Javier Panera, Director Domus Artium (DA2), Salamanca, Karen Wright, Editor at Large Modern Painters, and Wences Rambla, Professor of Esthetics at the University Jaume I, Castellón.
Due to the quality of the entrants the jury decided to confer an Honourable Mention on Nathan Carter (USA), Dominik Lejman (Poland), and Luis Vidal (Spain).
The jury decided to give the prize to Carlos Bunga because the artist explores the limits of the support and the pictorial space in a concise, direct, and elegant manner. In Carlos Bungas work painting becomes a place where color, material (sometimes poor and ephemeral), space, action, and architecture meet; and the members of the jury thought this was perfectly appropriated for a prize dedicated to expanded painting. Carlos Bunga is an artist born in Oporto, Portugal in 1976. He lives in and works in New York.
The Castellón County Council Prize of 60.000 euros (75.000 $ USA) was communicated to the artist by Miguel Angel Mulet, the Deputy for Culture of the Province of Castellón.
The Castellón County Council Painting Prize www.dipcas.es/paintingprize.htm – experienced a dramatical increase from 210 entries and 35 countries in 2005 to 941 entries and 55 countries of the current edition of the prize. The jury stated they were highly impressed by the quality and variety of entries.
Artistic director Paco Barragán said the initial and ongoing focus towards expanded painting has enabled this increase, making the contest more challenging each year. The relation and interaction of painting with photography, sculpture, installation, video, and the digital only acknowledges the strength and vitality of the medium.
EXHIBITION SHORT LISTED ARTISTS AND WINNER
The work of the 22 artists selected by the jury for the final exhibition will be on display at the Museo de Bellas Artes de Castellón till 21st January 2007. The artists are Diana Cooper (USA), Dominik Lejman (Poland), Carlos Bunga (Portugal), Pedro Barbeito (USA), Roberto Coromina (Spain), Almir Surkovic (Bosnia/Switzerland), Monique van Genderen (Canada), Anat Shalev (Israel), Regine Schumann (Germany), Adam Ross (USA), Alex Campoy (Spain), Annabel Emson (UK), Kwangho Lee (Korea), Anibal Catalán (Mexico), Michael Hofstetter (Germany), Arancha Goyeneche (Spain), Ivelisse Jiménez (Puerto Rico), Nogah Engler (UK), Claude Temin-Vergez (France), Nathan Carter (USA), Luis Vidal (Spain), and Vargas Suárez-Universal (USA-Mexico).
The show will be at display at the Fundacion Astroc in Madrid in February-March 2007.
Spanish artist based in Berlin Pablo Alonso (Gijón, 1969) was the winner of the I Castellón Painting Prize. Melvin Martínez from Puerto Rico was the winner of the II Castellón Painting Prize.
For further information and display of selected works, please look into the Castellón County Councils website
www.dipcas.es/paintingprize.htm (English)
www.dipcas.es/premiopintura.htm (Español)
email: targetyourart@yahoo.es
