Grünenthal Art Award

Miguel Ángel Tornero, winner Grünenthal Art Award dedicated to photography

Grünenthal Pharma, the Grünenthal GmbH Spanish affiliate, celebrated its Grünenthal Art Award Ceremony on November 10th at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum .

The artist Miguel Ángel Tornero received the first prize of 10.000 €uros for his photograph entitled “Pain Killers-comité de expertos contra el dolor” (“Pain Killers-expert committee for pain”). This picture shows the universal nature of pain and the different ways of treating it, most of them related to research, knowledge and the focus on listening to patients.

The jury also gave a special mention to the following artists: Juan Zamora for his picture “Una pastilla en la mano” (“A tablet in the hand”), Juan de Sande, untitled, and the work of Laura Cuch, “Dolores” (“Pains”), from her series “Trans”.

A total of 147 works were entered in this competition 33 of which came from Portugal. It is the first time that this Prize has encompassed the whole of the region of Iberia, and the experience has surpassed all expectations in both participation and the quality of the works presented. The General Manager of Grünenthal Iberia, Guillermo Castillo, said during the ceremony that “the fact that Portugal has been included in this year’s award has given it an international character”. Another difference from the previous award is that while the first was dedicated to painting, this year photography was chosen.

During his speech, Guillermo Castillo stressed the importance of the work of these artists, saying “I firmly believe that each and every one of these magnificent works allows us to get closer to our objective: to talk about and increase our knowledge of pain. In this sense I would like to praise the role of all the artists and thank them for their participation and their presence here today. You are helping us to reach our objective”, he stated.

The judging panel for this Art Award were the following:

• Mr. Óscar Alonso Molina, Art Critic and Independent Commissioner
• Dr. Manuel Alberto Camba, President of the Spanish Pain Society
• Dr. Duarte Correia, President of the Portuguesse Asociation for the Study of Pain
• Mr. Pierre Gonnord, photographer
• Ms. Ivânia de Mendonça Gallo, Director of the Contemporary Art Festival of Lisbon
• Mr. Alberto Schommer, photographer
• Mr. Guillermo Solana, Artistic Director of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum
• Ms. Angelika Grundmann, Secretary to the jury (without vote)