MADRID.- The Spanish Ministry of Culture has distinguished Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo, with the Velázquez Visual Arts Prize 2010, worth 125,000 euros. The jury has unanimously acknowledged "the maturity of the career of Doris Salcedo and quality of her work. The jury took into account the decisive role in opening up the international stage of the work of a new generation of artists in Latin America and the rigor of its proposal, both in the formal and in terms of its social and political values" .

"With the election of Doris Salcedo, the jury wanted to give the Velázquez Prize an openness to a solid work full vigor in the contemporary world."

The jury
The jury was chaired by Angeles Albert, general manager of Fine Arts and Cultural Assets, and composed of Antoni Muntadas, Velázquez Prize of Plastic Arts 2009, Marina Núñez, artist, designated by the Union of Visual Artists (UAAV) Victor Hugo Becerra, director of the Nabuel Felguérez Museum of Abstract Art in Zacatecas (Mexico), Silvia Lindner, director of the Würth Museum of La Rioja, appointed by the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Alfred Pacquement, director of the Musée D'art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and Vasif Kortun, director of Platform Garanti in Istanbul, appointed by the Directors Guild of Contemporary Art in Spain (ADAC), Montserrat Badia, and José Luis Brea Cobo, art critics, nominated by Contemporary Art Institute (IAC). Elena Hernando has acted as secretary, she is deputy director general for the Promotion of Fine Arts.

Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo (Bogotá, 1958) studied Fine Arts at the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogota and pursued graduate studies at New York University (1984). Between 1987 and 1988 directed the School of Fine Arts of the Institute of Fine Arts in Cali. She has been awarded grants by the Guggenheim Foundation and Penny Mc.Call.

Her creation revolves around the serious problem of violence in Colombia and its devastating impact on the social fabric. Salcedo travels to the most deprived areas in Colombia and speaks with the families of those killed, adding these accounts to her works, either directly or indirectly. She often uses furniture in hes sculptures, removing its familiarity and giving them an air of unease and horror.

One of her first creations is Atrabiliarias, a mural made up of women's shoes tucked into niches, covered by a thin translucent film. In another, Casa Viudas, the furniture are mourning the loss of their former occupants clinging to bones, the remains of a dress ...

She is one of the most important Colombian artists in the contemporary international scene. Her works have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Tate Modern in London, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid , among others.

Previous Winners
2002 Ramon Gaya
2003 Antoni Tàpies
2004 Paul Palazuelo
2005 Juan Soriano
2006 Antonio López
2007 Luis Gordillo
2008 Cildo Meireles
2009 Antoni Muntadas