FUNDACION BANCO SANTANDER AWARD FOR ARTISTIC PRODUCTION
THE BURGOS-BORN ARTIST MARIO SANTAMARÍA WINS THE 6th EDITION OF THE BANCO SANTANDER FOUNDATION – OPEN STUDIO AWARD FOR ARTISTIC PRODUCTION
For the sixth consecutive year, Open Studio Madrid and the Banco Santander Foundation have awarded the “Banco Santander Foundation Award for Artistic Production”, which aims to give a young Spanish artist without a place to work in Madrid the chance to work in a studio and publicise his or her pieces.
The Foundation decided to create the Banco Santander Foundation Award for Artistic Production as an opportunity to give visibility to young emerging artists, far from the commercial circuits, with the chance to present their work to renowned curators, representatives of both public and private institutions, gallery owners, collectors and the press.
In this sixth edition, the jury of the Banco Santander Foundation Award for Artistic Production, organised in conjunction with Open Studio, has unanimously decided to award the prize to Burgos artist Mario Santamaría (1985). The jury particularly mentioned the honesty of his personal and innovative work, in which he relates technology in the age of the internet to the politics and poetics of the body.
The six finalists this year were: Aldo Urbano, Gala Knörr, Helena Goñi, Lorena Gutiérrez, María Mrntrd and Mario Santamaría, all of whom stood out for the high standard of their work.
Santamaría is working on a new project in which he proposes an exercise in sculpture based on the connectivity between objects and the material nature of the internet. According to Santamaría himself, “for me, this prize means the ability to continue carrying out this research in Madrid, as well as having a place where I can present and publicise my work”.
The award granted to Mario Santamaría, which includes a three-month residency at Mala Fama estudios in Madrid, is endowed with a €3,500 production grant as well as access to Mala Fama estudios’ human and technical resources.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mario Santamaría’s art studies the phenomenon of contemporary observers, paying attention to both representational or symbolic practices and technical vision and mediation equipment. His work questions the relations between the production of subjectivity and the ways in which, in today’s society, the observer’s body is pierced by languages and technology. Using appropriation, remake or montage techniques, his projects explore a variety of fields such as conflict, memory, virtuality and surveillance.
A graduate in Fine Arts and holder of a master’s degree in Visual Arts and Multimedia from Valencia Polytechnic University, Mario Santamaría has completed artistic residencies in, among other centres, Hangar, Barcelona (2014-2016); Hisk, Gantes (2016); Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany (2015); Flax Art Studios, Belfast, Northern Ireland (2014); and Sarai, New Delhi, India (2012). He was recently a finalist in the Post-Photography Prototyping Prize held by Fotomuseum Winterthur.
He has taken part in a number of group exhibitions, of which the following are particularly worth noting: Una Cierta Oscuridad. CaixaForum Barcelona (2018); No secrets! – Images of surveillance. Münchner Stadtmuseum, Germany (2017); Do you believe? Fabra i Coats – Centre d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (2016); Infosphere. ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany (2015); Appunti. La Casa Encendida, Madrid (2015); Especies de Espacios. MACBA, Barcelona (2015); The Act & The Tracer. Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, Germany (2015); Look into the net. Edith-Russ-Haus, Oldenburg, Germany (2014); Fuga. Variaciones para una exposición. Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona (2013) and Sarai Reader 09. Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon, India (2012).
ABOUT THE AWARD
With this award, the Banco Santander Foundation and Open Studio decided six years ago to help give visibility to young emerging artists, far from the commercial circuits, giving them the chance to present their work to renowned curators, representatives of both public and private institutions, gallery owners, collectors and the press.
An event to present and explain the winner’s work will be held in the workshop at the end of the residency.
JURY
This year, the jury included independent curator Juan Canela who, together with María Beguiristain (head of Art and Exhibitions at the Banco Santander Foundation), Tania Pardo (head of Exhibitions at La Casa Encendida), Carlos Aires and Jorge García (artists from MALA FAMA ESTUDIOS), Jesús Madriñán (winner of the 5th edition of the Banco Santander Foundation Award for Artistic Production), and María Eugenia Álvarez (director of Open Studio), chose the winner of the 6th edition.
The winners of the previous editions of the Banco Santander Foundation Award for Artistic Production were:
I Edition
Belén Rodríguez (Valladolid, 1981)
II Edition
Olmo Cuña (Vigo, 1983)
III Edition
Elvira Amor (Madrid, 1982)
IV Edition
Pablo Capitán del Río (Granada, 1982)
V Edition
Jesús Madriñan (Santiago de Compostela, 1984)
Following the receipt of this award, the five winning artists have held exhibitions, won prizes and received grants and residencies, both national and international, all of which has significantly boosted their careers.
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