FINALIST - M16 ARTSPACE DRAWING PRIZE - M16 ARTSPACE - ACT

Thrilled and honoured to be selected in this very fine list of amazing artists who are finalists in the ‘M16 Artspace Drawing Prize’ in Griffith Canberra. The show will be opened on the 1st December at the M16 Artspace in Canberra when the winner will be announced.

The drawing prize has been a staple in M16 Artspace’s exhibition Calendar since 2006. It attracts hundreds of entries from across Australia and internationally.

The M16 Drawing Prize is for drawing in either traditional drawing media and techniques, or non-traditional works that extend understanding of what drawing may be within contemporary art practice.

The judges for this year’s prize are Megan Monte, curator and inaugural Director Ngununggulla and Dr. Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax, Canberra-based artist, writer, curator and Curator, Australian Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Australia.

All works are available for purchase online and at the opening.

See all seventeen finalists HERE

‘Sounds of Pulpit Rock - Bundanon’, 103cm x 198cm, mixed media and photomontage on watercolour paper.

FINALIST - PADDINGTON ART PRIZE 2021

What an honour to be selected as a finalist amongst such an amazing line up of Australian artists with my work ‘Bush Embrace - Pulpit Rock Bundanon’ in this year’s Paddington Art Prize. The exhibition of national finalists will be exhibited at Defiance Gallery Paddington Sydney and the winners will be announced on Thursday 14 October 2021 with the exhibition open from the 15th October until to Sunday 24 October 2021 .

Congratulations to all the finalists! and a huge thank you to the highIy esteemed panel of judges Katherine Roberts Senior Curator at Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Tim Allen Visual Artist and Winner of the 2017 Paddington Art Prize and Steven Alderton Director and CEO of the National Art School for selecting my work. I cannot wait to see their selection.

See selected finalists here

The Paddington Art Prize is a $30,000 National acquisitive prize, awarded annually for a painting inspired by the Australian landscape. Established in 2004 by Arts Patron, Marlene Antico OAM, this National prize takes its place among the country’s most lucrative and highly coveted painting prizes.

 The prize encourages the interpretation of the landscape as a significant contemporary genre, its long tradition in Australian painting as a key contributor to our national ethos, and is a positive initiative in private patronage of the arts in Australia.

Marlene Antico OAM, created the Prize in order to assist with the monetary difficulties that often impede artists from showcasing their works. As an art student, gallery owner and volunteer guide at the AGNSW for over 10 years, she has underscored her commitment to supporting contemporary Australian artists, aware, of the financial concerns that prevent many artists from devoting themselves entirely to their art practice.

 In 2017, Chris Antico, Marlene’s son joined as Principal Co-sponsor of the prize. The Paddington Art Prize appreciates the ongoing generosity of the following key sponsors and supporters: Marlene Antico OAM, Chris Antico, UNSW Art & Design, The Sydney Art Store, Sofala Cottage, Charvin Oils, Lucio’s Italian Restaurant, Defiance Gallery,  Nock Art Foundation, Tracey Deep Floral Sculptures, Valiant Hire and Woollahra Municipal Council.

‘Bush Embrace - Pulpit Rock Bundanon’, Mixed media and photomontage on watercolour paper, 150cm x 100cm

Bush Embrace is about the Australian landscape during the pandemic. The solitude and the longing for company and simple contact. Like giving a hug (something we’ve all missed). This interplay of mixed media with a subconscious painting approach exposes life and landscape at its most bittersweet.

FINALIST - MILBURN ART PRIZE 2021 - BRISBANE INSTITUTE OF ART

I’m very excited to be selected as a finalist in this year’s Milburn Art Prize at the Brisbane Institute of Art with my work ‘Sounds at Pulpit Rock Bundanon’. Good luck to all the finalists selected in this year’s prize.

The 2021 Milburn Art Prize for Landscape reflects the evolving nature and aims of BIA to honour Paul Milburn, a much loved and respected tutor who began teaching in 1989 at BIA until his death in 2011. With this in mind we offer a prize of $10,000 awarded for a 2d artwork addressing the spirit of Paul Milburn’s legacy and John Peart’s musings on landscape as quoted below. Accepted media includes painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and photography.

I see pictorial space as an inner landscape for the mind’s eye to roam; so it is not surprising if my paintings evoke the feeling of landscape. (I) know it is a mental projection but it is inherently delightful. While painting, I am issuing an open invitation for these illusions - or allusions – to enter. My conscious mind can be occupied with the making, and the unconscious can come up with its own surprises. John Peart

‘Sounds at Pulpit Rock Bundanon’, 103cm x 66cm, mixed media on water colour paper