- The Navarran artist Amaya Suberviola has won the 40th BMW Painting Prize for her work ‘ST25061 (Coger una pestaña con los dedos)’ (Catching an eyelash with your fingers).
- In the Digital Art category, the award went to Madrid-based Chino Moya for his audiovisual piece ‘Metapope’.
With this edition, the BMW Painting Prize celebrates four decades of uninterrupted commitment to culture and artistic talent, establishing itself as one of the most prestigious competitions in Europe. Since its inception in 1986, the award has boosted the careers of more than 29,000 artists, helping to strengthen ties between business, art and society.
‘Art is a driving force for transforming thought, and culture is an essential tool for the development of societies,’ said Oliver Zipse, global president of the BMW Group, during his speech. ‘Our support for the arts is not an isolated gesture, but rather a global commitment that seeks to build bridges between creativity, innovation and corporate citizenship.’
For his part, Manuel Terroba, Executive President of the BMW Group for Spain and Portugal, emphasised that ‘reaching forty editions is living proof that art and innovation, tradition and modernity, can go hand in hand’. He added that ‘the BMW Painting Prize has evolved with the times, opening up to new languages such as digital art and becoming a showcase for diversity, innovation and excellence.’
A gala celebrating art with a capital
The Teatro Real in Madrid was the venue for a gala presided over by Her Majesty Queen Sofía, at which more than 1,300 guests from the cultural, artistic and social spheres celebrated the 40th anniversary of this award. The BMW Group wished to pay an emotional tribute to Her Majesty for her constant support of culture and the arts, as well as her commitment to social and humanitarian causes.
The BMW Group also paid tribute to Her Royal Highness Princess Irene of Greece, whose work at the helm of the World Harmony Foundation began at the same time as the BMW Painting Prize was created, in a clear commitment to bringing together art, culture and solidarity with the most disadvantaged.
Along the same lines, and following the cessation of the Fundación Mundo en Armonía (World in Harmony Foundation) last year, the BMW Group will donate the proceeds from the 40th BMW Painting Prize Gala to the Food Bank, with the aim of alleviating the vulnerability of children.
Forty years of culture: a journey through Spanish creativity
Actor and BMW ambassador Álex González hosted the gala and, from the stage, highlighted the cultural significance of this anniversary: ‘Forty years of Spanish history, of the evolution of our habits, our customs and our ways of seeing, living and creating. Because culture is not a luxury: it is a necessity. It is the soul of a people. It is what unites us when everything seems to divide us,’ he said.
Under this premise, the gala offered a musical show featuring the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Salvador Vázquez, alongside the Dúo del Valle, Antonio Najarro and José Mercé, who took the audience on an emotional journey through Spanish music from the last four decades, from Falla to Manuel Alejandro, culminating in a performance of ‘Se nos rompió el amor’ in tribute to Rocío Jurado.
The artist Alaska, responsible for one of the most applauded performances of the night, recalled her experiences and the cultural effervescence of 1980s Spain, the era in which the Award was created, and defended the value of creativity as a hallmark of identity: “La Movida did not end in the 1980s. It is revived every time an artist dares to challenge the status quo and every time Spain reinvents itself. Because creativity here is not taught, it is breathed,” she said.
Art as a universal language
The jury for this edition—comprising Antonio López, Miguel Zugaza, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guillermo Solana and Lucía Casani—selected the winners from among nearly 2,000 artists from 38 countries, consolidating the BMW Painting Prize as a window onto the world and creative diversity.
The finalists in the painting category were José Ramón Amondarain Ubarrechena, Taxio Ardanaz Ruiz, Igor Arrieta Varela, Marta Beltrán Ferrer, Cristina Mejías Gómez, Simón Sepúlveda Braithwaite, and An Wei Lu Li.
In digital art, the selected artists were Juan Carlos Bracho Jiménez, Amaya Hernández Sigüenza, and Elisa Villota Sádaba.
BMW Painting Prize
Amaya Suberviola ‘ST25061 (Catching an eyelash with your fingers)’. (Mendavia, 1993)
The winning work was created using oil paint and marker on canvas, in which the image has been constructed and deconstructed through decisions that mimic digital gestures: copying, pasting, rotating, moving. No external elements are added, only what is already there is reorganised, as if the painting were an editable file. The process starts with a recognisable scene which, through cumulative errors and successes, becomes something new, halfway between the accidental and the intentional.
MW Digital Art Award
Chino Moya, “Metapope” (Madrid, 1976)
It is a single-channel 4K video creation with sound (looped). The video was produced by a team of more than 30 people, including: director of photography, camera operators, costume designers, make-up artist, hairdresser, set builder, prop maker, digital 3D modeller and music composer. The actor appearing in the play was filmed in front of a blue chroma key background with an Alexa digital cinema camera, and the backgrounds were constructed entirely in 3D.
Exhibition at Conde Duque
All the finalists’ works from the 40th edition will be on display for the first time at the Conde Duque Cultural Centre in Madrid, from 20 November 2025 to the end of January 2026.
Throughout its 40-year history, the BMW Painting Prize has recognised artists such as Florencio Maíllo, Rafa Macarrón, Ángeles Agrela, Miki Leal, Santiago Ydáñez, Sonia Navarro and Damaris Pan, who found this competition to be a decisive boost to their careers.
Forty years on, the prize remains a celebration of talent, creativity and the transformative power of art.
About BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of premium automobiles and motorcycles and also provides top-class financial services. The BMW Group’s production network comprises more than 30 production centres worldwide; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2024, the BMW Group sold more than 2.45 million passenger vehicles and more than 210,000 motorcycles worldwide. Pre-tax profit for the 2023 financial year was €17.1 billion, while revenue amounted to €155.5 billion. As of 31 December 2023, the BMW Group had a workforce of 154,950 employees.
The economic success of the BMW Group has always been based on a long-term vision and responsible action. Sustainability is a key element of the BMW Group’s corporate strategy and encompasses all products, from the supply chain and production to the end of their useful life.
Source: PRENSA GRUPO BMW