Rafel G. Bianchi, Painting Prize 2022 of the Vila Casas Foundation

The Vila Casas Foundation has awarded the 2022 Painting Prize to the artist Rafel G. Bianchi (Olot, Girona, 1967) for the work El coleccionista absent, III (2022), which is part of a series started on 2015 in which the artist takes as a starting point the first version of the painting The Collector of Prints (1863) by Marià Fortuny. Bianchi recreates the space of the work of the Reus painter and places contemporary works of art and current characters to talk about collecting and the concept of imitation in art.

The winning work is endowed with € 12,000 and will become the property of the Vila Casas Foundation, and the winning artist will hold a solo exhibition at Can Framis in 2023.

The jury's verdict - made up of Gisela Chillida, Natàlia Chocarro, Marc Domènech, Conxita Oliver, Antonio Sagnier, Àlex Susanna and Antoni Vila Casas - was made public today, Monday 4 July, at 7 pm in Can Framis (Barcelona) , during the opening ceremony of the exhibition of the Prize Finalists.

The call for the 2022 Painting Prize of the Vila Casas Foundation closed with a record participation of 616 entries, which surpasses all previous editions of the Sculpture, Painting and Photography Awards. The exhibition of the 30 finalists can be visited at Can Framis until 18 September.