2025 APERTURA PRIZE: LOS TORREZNOS
Picture: Sue Ponce.
Marking the beginning of the exhibition season at Madrid galleries, the Regional Government has awarded the 2025 Apertura Prize to the art collective Los Torreznos (Rafael Lamata and Jaime Vallaure) for their work Las opiniones [Opinions] (2025), currently on display at the Freijo gallery. The work will be purchased by the Regional Government and will enter the collection of the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Móstoles.
Los Torreznos, alias Rafael Lamata (Spain, 1959) and Jaime Vallaure (Spain, 1965), use art as a vehicle of communication about society, politics and deeply-rooted customs, translating topics from everyday life into contemporary language. The intention of their work is geared towards research and expressive experimentation through simple forms like gestures, language and presence that are instantly accessible to anyone, not just experts in contemporary art languages. Using humour, they explore themes that reflect what anyone might experience. Their work adopts different formats, presented both in person (through performance and art actions) and through the use of multimedia (video, sound pieces).
The jury for the prize was made up of Ferran Barenblit Scheinin, a member of the artwork acquisition advisory committee of the Regional Government of Madrid; Sandra Guimarães, director of the Museo Helga de Alvear; Tania Pardo, director of the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo of the Autonomous Community of Madrid; María Asunción Lizarazu de Mesa, a member of the technical team at the Museo Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo; Manuel Lagos Gismero, general director of Culture and Creative Industries for the region of Madrid; Asunción Cardona Suanzes, deputy general director of Fine Arts of the Regional Government of Madrid; and Juana Arana, plastic arts adviser of the Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport.