Hanging with the best

TEVEN student Isobel Bazar and Ocean Shores artist Amber Wallis have been named finalists in two of Australia’s most prestigious art competitions, with their work now on show at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Eleven-year-old Isobel is a finalist in the Young Archie competition for her portrait My hero, depicting her 93-year-old great-grandmother Oma.

“She has seen a lot,” Isobel said. “She was originally from Lithuania. I love that I can connect with that side of my family.”

Her painting is one of 70 selected from more than 2500 entries by children and teens from across the country. The Young Archie competition, held annually since 2013, invites young artists to portray someone special to them, with a focus on creativity and emotional connection.

Ocean Shores artist Amber Wallis has also been named a finalist in the

Sulman Prize for the second year in a row, recognised for her abstract oil-on-linen painting Red Figures Merging into the Land.

The Sulman Prize, established in 1936, is awarded for the best genre or subject painting or mural project and is judged by a guest artist appointed by the gallery.

Wallis said her work draws on formative experiences growing up in the counterculture communities of Great Barrier and

Waiheke Islands in New Zealand, and explores themes such as motherhood and domestic confinement.

“I’m interested in holding some of the darker edges of these experiences and repainting them anew into safer terrain,” she said.

In 2022, she won the inaugural Wollumbin Art Prize for a portrait of her daughter Ivy. Her work has also been shown at leading galleries in Brisbane and Melbourne.

This year’s Sulman Prize attracted a record 732 entries, with 30 finalists selected. While the prize went to Blue Mountains artist Gene A’Hern, Wallis said she felt honoured to be among the finalists.

“It’s always very nice having recognition from your peers and specifically the judge of the Sulman this year, Elizabeth Pulie,” she said.

“I do feel like I’m called to live a creative life and to paint. It feels like it’s the thing I’m meant to do in life.”

The Young Archie and Sulman Prize exhibitions are on at the Art Gallery of NSW until August 17.