Thomasin,
Looking at these works brought to mind the selected works of another big contest here in Spain--it would seem that this tendency towards photorealism of which Ilaria speaks also seems to be the trend here, at least in some circles, because the abstract and the experimental still seem to proliferate also.
Here is the link to that contest, if you are interested to have a look:
http://www.fundaciondelasartes.org/p...p?id=ES&pag=36
Although there are some worthy works among the selected, you will spot at once the ones that are similar to the BP works.
The trend seems to swing from one end of the pendulum to the other--hopefully it will soon stop in the middle.