Judas Arrieta wins the Bathco Contemporary Art Prize
The groundbreaking work by Judas Arrieta is now part of the private collection of Bathco, a company that has invested in national art.
Journal
Santander, July 18, 2016. The Gipuzkoan artist has been named the winner of the First Bathco Contemporary Art Prize for the Solo Project presented by the Espacio Alexandra gallery at ArteSantander 2016. The winner's name was announced on Saturday, July 16, the opening day of the leading art fair in northern Spain, which will remain open until Wednesday, July 20.
The expert committee, comprised of Ana del Barrio and Marta Gómez, heads of the specialized magazine Masdearte.com, Fernando Centenera, president of the Centenera Foundation and collector, and José López, CEO of Bathco, unanimously selected Arrieta's work from a total of 43 galleries. José López presented the award to the winner of this first edition in a ceremony attended by the director of Artesantander, Juan González de Riancho, who highlighted Bathco's efforts in promoting contemporary art through this award.
The creative process of this Hondarribia artist's work embraces Japanese influence, Eastern culture, and a very specific way of understanding contemporary European art. He combines this influence with the use of a unique artistic language to produce his works. Arrieta's work is directly related to new ways of understanding art; he tries to connect with the audience in a playful and joyful way, through sculptures, murals, and works conceived as toys. For the artist, his work should create good experiences for people.
With this award, Bathco aims to support contemporary artists who transcend borders through the quality of their work. This is similar to their commitment to Bathco Atelier; the bathroom product manufacturing company collaborates with internationally recognized artists. This has represented a qualitative leap and has served as a link between product manufacturing and the application of art to everyday life.
This first contact with the renowned artist's work has led to the proposal of medium-term projects that will support both parties in taking this synergy between art and bathrooms to the highest level.
BATHCO CONTEMPORARY ART PRIZES
This year, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of Artesantander, Bathco has wanted to be very actively present at the leading art fair in northern Spain with the aim of consolidating its commitment to art and culture. To this end, it launched the first edition of the Bathco Contemporary Art Awards, granting €3,000 to the best artistic project presented at Artesantander. These awards also have meant for Bathco the acquisition of a work belonging to the winning project. In this way, the company supports the dissemination of culture in general and contemporary art in particular, highlighting the indispensable work of gallerists.
In the photograph from left to right: Juan González de Riancho, XXXX, José López, Judas Arrieta, Marta Gómez, Ana del Barrio, and Fernando Centenera.