2022 XV Central Bank National Painting Award: the BCRA Awarded a Prize to Luis Wells and Presented the Winning Works of this Edition

The BCRA opened the 2022 XV Central Bank National Painting Award's exhibition, and announced the winners of the different categories.

The BCRA is celebrating the 15th edition of the Central Bank National Painting Award, and reaffirms its commitment to support artistic production and build a representative collection of visual arts in Argentina.

This year, 36 works by artists from different places were selected as finalists, making up the most federal selection in the history of this award. The winning works will become part of the BCRA’s pictorial heritage.

The jury was composed of Joaquín Barrera, Dolores Casares, Hugo Petruschansky, María de las Mercedes Reitano and Patricia Viel; with Rodrigo Alonso as curator of the exhibition.

Luis Wells, Great Prize for Distinguished Painters

The BCRA awarded the Great Prize for Distinguished Painters to Luis Wells for his extensive career and the liveliness of his current production. The selected work is Foresta Azul (Blue Forest).

Wells's original image brings a unique style to contemporary Argentine art and constitutes an invaluable contribution to the BCRA's art collection.

Wells was a protagonist of key moments in the history of Argentine art. In 1959, he was one of the founders of the Argentine Informalism movement, and during the '60s he was part of the activities of the Torcuato Di Tella Institute in Buenos Aires. After that, he lived and worked as an industrial designer in the United States. When he returned to Argentina, he took up painting again, developing abstract-based works in which geometry and gestures coexisted.

The awarded artists of this edition are:

ARTISTS OLDER THAN 35 YEARS OF AGE

FIRST PRIZE | Agustín González Goytía, “Salón con escalera” (Hall with Stairs)

SECOND PRIZE | Mariana De Matteis, “Pintura sobre escultura (Heras Velazco)” (Painting on Sculpture (Heras Velazco)”

THIRD PRIZE | Maximiliano Murad, “El grito perfecto de alguna pandilla salvaje” (The Perfect Scream of Some Wild Gang)

ARTISTS YOUNGER THAN 35 YEARS OF AGE

FIRST PRIZE | Ana Won, “Viento Futuro” (Future Wind)

SECOND PRIZE | Franz Vicha, “Crisálida de cables encintados” (Chrysalis of Wires with Masking Tape)

THIRD PRIZE | Belén Boeris, “Carnívora” (Carnivora)

In this edition of the Award, 990 artists from all over the country submitted more than 2,900 works.

Wells’s painting, along with the selected and the winning works of this edition of the Central Bank National Painting Award, can be visited free of charge until March 30, 2023, Monday to Thursday, from 10 am to 4 pm, at the BCRA's Museum, San Martín 216.

"Foresta azul” (Blue Forest), Luis Wells

"Salón con escalera” (Hall with Stairs), Agustín González Goytía

"Viento Futuro" (Future Wind), Ana Won

December 7, 2022