Madrid/Munich. Navarran artist Amaya Suberviola has won the 40th Premio BMW de Pintura 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 Premio BMW de Pintura celebrates four decades of uninterrupted commitment to culture and artistic talent, consolidating its position as one of the most prestigious competitions in Europe. Since its creation in 1986, the award has advanced the careers of more than 29,000 artists, helping to strengthen the ties between business, art and society.
“Art is a driver of transformation in thinking, and culture is an essential tool for the development of societies,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, during his speech. “Our support for art is not an isolated gesture, but 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 “having reached 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 forms of expression such as digital art and becoming a showcase for diversity, innovation and excellence.”
A gala celebrating art 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 paid 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 Mundo en Armonía Foundation began at the same time as the Premio BMW de Pintura was created, in a clear commitment to bringing together art, culture and solidarity with the most disadvantaged.
In the same vein, and following the cessation of the Mundo en Armonía Foundation’s activities last year, the BMW Group will donate the proceeds from the 40th Premio BMW de Pintura Gala to the Food Bank, with the aim of alleviating the vulnerability experienced by children.
Forty years of culture: a journey through Spanish creativityActor 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 featured a musical show with the participation of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Salvador Vázquez, together with the Dúo del Valle, Antonio Najarro and José Mercé, who took an emotional journey through Spanish creation over 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 acclaimed performances of the night, recalled her experiences and the cultural effervescence of 1980s Spain, the era in which the award was born, 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 languageThis year’s jury — made up of Antonio López, Miguel Zugaza, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Guillermo Solana and Lucía Casani — selected the winners from among almost 2,000 artists of 38 nationalities, consolidating the Premio BMW de Pintura 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 finalists were Juan Carlos Bracho Jiménez, Amaya Hernández Sigüenza and Elisa Villota Sádaba.
Exhibition at Conde DuqueAll 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 Award has recognised artists such as Florencio Maíllo, Rafa Macarrón, Ángeles Agrela, Miki Leal, Santiago Ydáñez, Sonia Navarro and Damaris Pan, who have found in this competition a decisive boost to their careers. Forty years later, the award continues to be a celebration of talent, creativity, and the transformative power of art.
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