Saturday 4 July - Sunday 9 August 2009
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Macquarie Street Hobart
A message from the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor of Hobart, Alderman Rob Valentine.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2009 City of Hobart Art Prize exhibition.
The works created by the 58 practitioners working within the fields of Drawing and Sculpture speaks of the high calibre of contemporary art practice both here in Tasmania and across the nation. I extend my congratulations to all the participating artists for their significant contribution to the City of Hobart Art Prize.
Selected from the exhibition, the works of the two winners in each category are acquired for the City of Hobart Art Prize Collection.
My congratulations to both winning artists whose work stood out from what is an exceptionally strong field of contemporary Australian art practice. Both winners receive a $15,000 prize provided by the Hobart City Council.
My thanks go to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery for their expertise and assistance and to our valuable sponsors for their contributions. Hobart City Council would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support and commitment of its Visual Arts Sub Committee.
My thanks also to this year's judges - Deborah Edwards, Senior Curator, Art Gallery of New South Wales; David Handley, Director, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney; and Jane Kinsman, Senior Curator International Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, have travelled to Tasmania and committed themselves with enthusiasm and great professionalism, to what is an always difficult role. In addition I would particularly like to acknowledge our fourth judge, Jane Stewart, Coordinating Curator of Art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery who has generously given her time, advice and energy in working with Council staff to make the City of Hobart Art Prize a truly professional event.
The Hobart City Council is very proud of its role in initiating and continuing to present this important national art prize. We believe it reflects our City's cultural identity as a place where contemporary visual arts, craft and design are nurtured and celebrated.
Prize Winners
Drawing
Mary Scott
White House, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue Rooms 2009
Four panels each 70 x 100cm graphite, colour pencil on paper
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Drawing is an exploratory dimension to my painting based practice. Drawing allows me to explore alternative forms of image and is made in the context of thinking and ideas, rather than representing the appearance of objects. Common to all my drawings is an ongoing interest in the relationship of form to surface pattern.
Sculpture
Tricky Walsh
The Wasp Project No 1 The Factory 2009
200 x 200 x 70cm timber, perspex, balsa modelling compound
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ARTIST STATEMENT
My installation practice is defined by interconnecting components that construct conceptual environments or in the assemblage of deconstructed machines that illustrate a system of social or architectural orthopaedics. In this Wasp Factory - The W.A.S.P. parasites crowd the workings of the (now) obsolete machine, wreaking havoc with the cogs and blind to the effects that their busy toil causes.
The Moorilla Prize
Cath Robinson
Um Chorus 2009
100 x 100cm 33 artists think about inspiration (Soundtrack), lift button, audio message repeater, speakers
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ARTIST STATEMENT
For some time now my practice has explored vulnerable moments of reflection; ums, ahs, pauses and punctuation, the "in between space", the impossible hiatus between the private processes of thought and the abstraction of language/art. The Um Chorus is a simultaneous orchestral collection of Tasmanian artists thinking about their inspiration.
Judges' Commendation Drawing
Kath Sinkora
Going Somewhere? 2007
107.5 x 149cm charcoal on inked paper
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Going Somewhere? speaks of a past and a future. The tensioned ropes bind our beginnings and the knotted ties join the unknown journeys that implicitly lie ahead. As an unfinished entity, the canoe's journey is yet to be revealed and questions remain unanswered. The story of this bark canoe covers a long and significant voyage… technically, culturally and spiritually.
Judges' Commendation Sculpture
Fred Fisher
Spin 2007
180 x 130 x 130cm plywood, MDF, wood, acrylic paint
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Part of my studio practice involves the stacking of rectilinear or circular planes that have a constant or variable size and thickness; the variables define the form of the object. I use these processes to explore the qualities of volume and form; positive and negative space and the acumen of human vision and perception.
Exhibiting Artists
Drawing
Surya Bajracharya, Jan Berg, Caroline Durre, Jules C McCue, Mark Hislop, David Edgar, Mog Bremner, Maria McDermott, Gosia Wlodarczak, Stephanie Hicks, Simon O'Carrigan, Mary Scott, Richard Wastell, Amy Dunlop, Jonathan Kimberley, Amanda Robins, Matt Coyle, Tom O'Hern, Penny Mason, Kath Sinkora, Gary Christian, Gina Haywood, Helen Wright, Nathan Taylor, Lindsay Broughton, Sara Maher, Carole Wilson, Yvette Watt, Tracy Moore, Jane Ansted and Kurt Schranzer.
Sculpture
Alicia King, Jacqueline Bradley, Angkuna Kuluru, Cath Robinson, Francois Limondin, Anne Mestitz, Matt Calvert, Michael Doolan, Curtis Hore, Anthony Johnson, Barbie Kjar, Trudi Brinckman, Bob Jenyns, Fred Fisher, Ron Spiers, Donna Marcus, Lucia Usmiani, John Vella, Daniel Dorall, Dean Chatwin, Kensuke Todo, Colin Langridge, Mish Meijers, Tricky Walsh, Lorraine Jenyns, Len Watson and Phillipa Steele.
Judging panel
The members of the judging panel for the 2009 City of Hobart Art Prize were:
- Deborah Edwards, Senior Curator, Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.
- David Handley, Director, Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney.
- Jane Kinsman, Senior Curator, International Prints, Drawings and Illustrated Books, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
- Jane Stewart, Coordinating Curator of Art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.
The members of the judging panel for the 2009 Moorilla Prize were:
- Lindy-Lou Bateman
- Leigh Carmichael
Judges' Statement
The overarching comment made by each judge was that the range and depth of entries was exceptional. It was felt that the strength of the exhibition itself lay in the varied approaches to drawing and sculpture, and that the selected works demonstrated a strong cross section of contemporary concerns.
We agreed unanimously that Tricky Walsh's winning sculpture The Wasp Project No 1 The Factory was a strong and coherent three dimensional form. The work successfully bridges macro and microscopic elements to establish a compelling dynamic which successfully lures the viewer into the inner-urban hive of activity.
Similarly, the synthesis of weaving small components into a succinct whole was one of the reasons for awarding Mary Scott the drawing prize for White House, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue Rooms. Particular comment was made about the skilfully balanced concept and technique, in particular the effective contrast between linear detail and bold blocks of colour.
The interstate judges asked that it be noted that they were impressed to see a strong component of Tasmanian artists selected from a broad national field.
Jane Stewart, Coordinating Curator of Art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
The Peoples' Choice Award
A non-acquistive award of $1,000 for the most popular work in the exhibition, as voted for by the people of Hobart. www.moorilla.com.au
View the 2009 City of Hobart Art Prize Exhibition Catalogue