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Tag: art prize

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Portia Geach Memorial Award 2023

Monday, November 27th, 2023 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

Has the Portia Geach gone political? That was the inescapable suspicion when this year’s prize went to Kate Stevens for The Whistleblower, a portrait of military lawyer, David McBride, currently in court over breaches of the Defence Act, having pleaded guilty to leaking classified documents that detailed alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan. McBride’s argument […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Portia Geach Memorial Award 2022

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

There was a fizz to last year’s Portia Geach Memorial Award for female portraitists, but this time the show feels slightly flat. A display is only as good as the entries submitted, and many artists seem to have settled on smaller, less ambitious works. Should size matter? Look at art long enough and you’ll find […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

NATSIAA 2022 in Darwin

Tuesday, August 16th, 2022 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

For almost 40 years Telstra has had a dream run with its sponsorship of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA). Held every August at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), the competition has become the primary focus for Indigenous communities and individual artists from all parts of […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

The Hadley’s Art Prize 2022 & MONA

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

Unlike Errol Flynn and Douglas Mawson, I’d never stayed at Hadley’s Orient Hotel in Hobart – until it hosted an art prize. Established in 1834, Hadley’s is one of the oldest hotels in Australia, and it trades lavishly on its historical connections. There are plenty of hotels that are more up-to-date and luxurious, but not […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Archibald Prize 2021

Tuesday, June 15th, 2021 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

It’s now history that Peter Wegner has won the centenary  Archibald Prize with a portrait of centenarian artist, Guy Warren. Wegner wasn’t the ony one to have that idea – by Guy’s reckoning he sat for “four or five” portraits in the lead-up to this year’s prizes, but here’s little doubt the Archibald winner was […]

Blog

Salon des Refusés 2021

Friday, June 11th, 2021 Blog,

When the Art Gallery of NSW moved the opening of the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes from September to June, it was bound to have consequences for the quality of the exhibitions. The 2021 Archibald season kicks off this weekend, less than five months after the closure of last year’s shows on 10 January. This […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Ramsay Art Prize 2021

Tuesday, June 1st, 2021 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

Still basking in the success of its Clarice Beckett survey the Art Gallery of South Australia is now pushing hard in the field of contemporary art. The Beckett exhibition was a major feat of historical restitution but the 2021 Ramsay Art Prize is focused on the future. The $100,000 first prize is awarded not simply […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Dobell Drawing Prize 2021

Monday, April 19th, 2021 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

If anyone should know about drawing it’s Guy Warren – he’s been doing it for about 90 years, although he only began taking lessons in his teens. When I spoke with Warren last week, as he was closing in on his century, he related drawing, and art in general, back to prehistoric times. “Making a […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Salon des Refusés 2020

Tuesday, October 13th, 2020 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

There must be a limit to the industrial quantity of portraits served up annually to the Australian public. This year we’ve already had the Portia Geach Memorial Award at the S.H.Ervin; the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award in Bega; the National Photographic Portrait Prize and the Darling Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in […]

Sydney Morning Herald Column

Archibald Prize 2020: A Trilogy

Tuesday, October 6th, 2020 Sydney Morning Herald Column,

The Archibald Prize 2020: A First Look   Scomo is out, but Albo is in. And so is Jacinda Adern. If the Art Gallery of NSW were not a steadfastly apolitical institution, one might imagine there is some comment intended in the selection of finalists for the 2020 Archibald Prize. In olden days a portrait […]