The Ministry of Culture announced the decision in Madrid on 13 October 2026. Vari Caramés has won Spain’s 2026 National Photography Prize, worth €30,000.
The jury said his work has remained contemporary while helping renew Galician culture since the 1980s. Among its leaders were Ángeles Albert, director general for cultural heritage and fine arts, and Jesús Carrillo Castillo, deputy director general for visual arts and contemporary creation. The decision praised Caramés’ contribution to authorial photography and a visual language that pushes the medium towards pictorial abstraction.
Blur is part of the method.
The jury highlighted stains in Caramés’ images. It also cited his use of reflections and characteristic out-of-focus compositions. In its view, these choices expand photography’s expressive possibilities. His work has a particular visual poetry and a recognisable universe, where suggestion and atmosphere make everyday scenes feel unusual.
The sea and harbour recur in his photographs. Street scenes and railway stations also appear, often with people caught in a brief pause. Caramés makes ordinary scenes feel extraordinary, relying on suggestion instead of a literal account of what sits in front of the lens. That approach connects familiar places and moments to the painterly abstraction the jury praised.
Born in Ferrol in 1953, Caramés is a self-taught photographer. His father gave him a manual Voigtländer camera when he was 15. He began experimenting by photographing his paintings. He also photographed drawings and wrought-iron pieces. Later, he used photography during his studies in Technical Architecture.
Caramés began exhibiting in A Coruña in 1980. Six years later, he took part in the second Fotobienal Vigovisións, an international project in which six photographers from different countries portrayed Vigo over the course of a week. His later exhibitions included solo shows in Madrid, and he exhibited in Barcelona. He also took part in group presentations across Spain. His work appeared in Portugal and France.
Among the exhibitions in his career was «Algo. Nada. Siempre» at Sala Canal de Isabel II in Madrid in 2022. «Lugares» was shown in A Coruña in 2019, followed by «Pasatiempo» in Santiago in 2013. He presented «Nadar» in A Coruña in 2010. «Recreo» was shown in Santiago de Compostela in 2008. He published the photobook «Bosque animado» in 2024.
RTVE’s coverage of the prize also traces Caramés’ exhibition history and career in Galicia. Spanish cultural coverage has followed Mari Carmen García Vela’s return to Informe Semanal for TVE’s 70th anniversary. The jury’s decision recognises Caramés’ contribution to photography and Galician cultural renewal.
The previous National Photography Prize went to Carmela García. Other recipients include Laia Abril and Cristóbal Hara. The list also includes Pilar Aymerich and Ana Teresa Ortega Aznar, as well as Montserrat Soto and Leopoldo Pomés.
