The FLAD Prize for Drawing has been awarded to support artistic production and innovation, targeting promising Portuguese artists, as announced by the organization. This initiative is held in partnership with the drawing-focused fair.
The 8th edition of the Drawing Room Lisboa is underway at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes (SNBA) until Sunday, featuring 23 art galleries and over 65 Portuguese and international artists.
The FLAD Drawing Prize was unanimously awarded by a jury including artist João Onofre, curator Miguel von Hafe Pérez, and Drawing Room Lisboa director Mónica Álvarez Careaga.
“Pedro Vaz’s proposal combines conceptual rigor with a plastic formalization of undeniable uniqueness. Referring to the tragedy of contemporary forest fires, the artist immersed himself in the territory from August 9 to 25 this year, later proposing a visual reflection that unfolds from the matrix of drawing to the realm of moving images and documentation,” described the jury in a statement released by the organization.
The winning work was also recognized for its potential to affirm art as a socially relevant discourse.
Finalists for the FLAD Drawing Prize included Ana Manso, Luísa Jacinto, Mariana Gomes, and Tiago Baptista, whose works are on display at Galeria Pintor Fernando Azevedo in SNBA until Sunday.
Additionally, the organization awarded the Prémio Imprensa Nacional to José Loureiro, represented by Galeria Fonseca Macedo, and Cecília Costa, represented by Belo Galsterer, both present at Drawing Room Lisboa.
This year, the Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda introduced a new Editorial Prize awarded to Tiago Baptista, represented by Galeria 3+1 Arte Contemporânea. This prize involves selecting a Portuguese artist to create a monograph on their work.
The monograph will be part of the Arte e Artistas Collection, published by Imprensa Nacional, and will be presented at the next edition of Drawing Room Lisboa.
These recognized artists join João Vasco Paiva, Sebastião Casanova, and Balcony Gallery, who received the Fundação Millennium bcp Awards on Friday for Outstanding Artistic Project, Fundação Millennium bcp Acquisition Prize — Emerging Talent, and Curatorial Project Prize, respectively.
Among the Lisbon-based galleries participating are Arte Periférica, Braçoperna44, Carlos Carvalho — Arte Contemporânea, Dialogue, Galeria 111, Galeria Filomena Soares, Galeria Miguel Nabinho, No.No Gallery, Salgadeiras Arte Contemporânea, and This is Not a White Cube.
From Porto, the event welcomes Galeria Nuno Centeno, Galeria Pedro Oliveira, Kubikgallery, Lehmann, and Presença, while from the Azores, Fonseca Macedo — Arte Contemporânea is a regular participant, showcasing the discipline of drawing’s vitality.
International galleries at Drawing Room Lisboa include Galería Silvestre (Madrid), Siboney (Santander), and Trinta Arte Contemporánea (Santiago de Compostela).
Debuting at the fair are the galleries This is Not a White Cube, Dialogue, and BraçoPerna 44 from Lisbon, as well as Galería Bibli from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as per information from the organization.
Represented artists include significant contemporary Portuguese figures such as Pedro Cabrita Reis, Pedro Calapez, José Pedro Croft, António Olaio, Manuel Caeiro, Ana Manso, and Mariana Gomes, alongside international artists like Eric Fok (China), Pilar Mackenna (Chile), Vicente Blanco (Spain), Klaas Vanhee (Belgium), and Cássio Markowski (Brazil).
