Virginia Frieyro’s work centers on the ongoing self-portraiture of the artist. Through painting and drawing, she seeks to capture intimate moments, turning her artistic practice into an emotional diary that chronicles her life’s journey.
Shifting between figuration and abstraction, and from drawing to painting, Frieyro is less concerned with the final image and more focused on what it evokes within her as time passes.
Her art is rooted in the act of returning to the emotional state in which the work was created, making this reflection the essence of her practice.
Frieyro is deeply fascinated by the discovery of emotion in art, believing that when a piece is sincere, it allows for a connection to the most intimate aspects of the artist. For her, art truly happens in this moment.
The process of exploration, the evolution of her work, and the thrill of reaching unexpected, surprising places—much like the unforeseen moments encountered in life—are also central to her approach.
A graduate in Fine Arts from Complutense University of Madrid and in Interior Design from the IADE School in Madrid—where she has also taught—Virginia studied under renowned artists such as Dis Berlin (Palacio de Albaicín, Noja) and Navarro Baldeweg (Fundación Botín).
Frieyro has held solo exhibitions at María Llanos Gallery in Cáceres, Artificial Gallery, Espacio F, Sala de Arte Joven, and Casa de Galicia in Madrid. Her group exhibitions have taken her to prestigious venues such as Fundación Botín in Santander, MARCO Museum in Vigo, Fundación MAPFRE, La Casa Encendida, Luis Adelantado Gallery, DA2 in Salamanca, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Casa de la Moneda, Fundación Caja de Extremadura, WeCollect Gallery, and A del Arte Gallery in Zaragoza.
She has participated in art fairs such as ARTISSIMA (Turin), ARTE SANTANDER, FORO SUR, JUST MAD, ARTE LISBOA, ART SALAMANCA, and VALENCIA ART.
In 2014, she exhibited in Dubai after being named a finalist in the International Emerging Artist Award.
Virginia has been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Gaceta Regional (2000), UCM’s Premio Joven de Artes Plásticas (2004), Generaciones (2005), Focus Abengoa (2006), and Gregorio Prieto (2006, 2009) awards. She was also nominated for the Salón de Otoño of the Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors (2010), the Jesús Bárcenas Painting Prize (2011), the VIII National Painting Contest of the Parliament of La Rioja (2013), Fundación Caja de Extremadura’s Obra Abierta competition, the Torres García-Ciutat de Mataró Biennial (2017), and the Montblanc Drawing Prize (2019).
In 2004, she won the prestigious Penagos Drawing Award from Fundación MAPFRE, and in 2007, she received one of the El Brocense Visual Arts Awards from the Cáceres Provincial Council. She also earned an honorable mention in Figurativas 11, a competition organized by the Fundació de les Arts i els Artistes. In 2011, she won First Prize at the Gregorio Prieto Drawing Competition, and two years later, Beers Contemporary included her in the renowned 100 Painters of Tomorrow list.