Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize wraps up

MORE than 11,000 people have viewed the acquisitive $30,000 Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize during it’s tenure at the Geelong Gallery.

The doors officially opened to the exhibition on June 25, with visitors able to catch a glimpse of some of Australia’s best contemporary artists before it wrapped up public viewing on Sunday.

Selected from more than 400 entries from across the country, the 28 shortlisted works reflected the currency and relevance of painting today, and were lauded for their stylistic approach and thematic range.

The 2022 winner of the $30,000 prize was Kaantju/Umpila woman Naomi Hobson who lives and works on the traditional lands of the Southern Kaantju people in Coen, Queensland.

Her painting titled ‘Sand dunes on the coast’ was said to be representative of her distinctive style, with vibrant multi-layered compositions emerging from and conveying a deep ancestral connection to the traditional lands of her people.

The selection panel made up of senior art curators including Lisa Sullivan, Kyla McFarlane and Lisa Byre said it was a pleasure to be obtaining Hobson’s piece for the gallery but also thanked all artists for their amazing entries into the award.

“My fellow judges and I had the pleasure of reviewing over four hundred works and refining the selection to the shortlist of twenty-eight,” Senior Curator at Geelong Gallery, Lisa Sullivan said.

“Key to our deliberations was identifying works of technical and aesthetic strength, as well as those that somehow encapsulate the ‘spirit of the time’ by reflecting prominent issues, directions or influences in contemporary art.

“The absence of an overarching prize theme ensures diverse responses to the natural world; the built environment; the figure; references to art history and popular culture; and explorations of colour and form through abstraction.”

Geelong artist Lucy Fahey was lucky enough to be one of 28 artists shortlisted for the prize out of the whopping 400 initial entries.

Fahey’s print ‘Eleanor feeds’ reflected the sophistication and rich diversity of contemporary Australian painting and was certainly a very valued print that identified and conveyed a certain moment of time during lockdown, where Lucy watched her sister feed her newborn for the first time.

During the exhibition period, 862 votes were also casted in the Peoples Choice Award which was voted on by patrons upon visiting the gallery.

Fiona McMonagle’s piece ‘For most of history anonymous was a women 2021’ was awarded the prize, while Clara Adolphs ‘Girl, pool 2022’ and Janet Forbes, Wati Kutjara – ‘the goanna men 2021’ were also cited as popular picks.

The Gallery congratulated all entrants into the 2022 Geelong Contemporary Arts Prize and thanked all visitors who came through the site and viewed the acclaimed painting spectacular.