Winners Of IHC Telecom Art Awards Announced

12 May 2005

Winners Of IHC Telecom Art Awards Announced

The winners of the IHC Telecom Art Awards were announced yesterday at a special function and auction held at The Dowse gallery in Lower Hutt.

Quintin Barrett from Hawera won first prize and $4,000 for his artwork entitled “Tractor”, Kenny Edge from Hamilton won second prize and $2,000 for an untitled piece, while Sharon Anderson from Invercargill and Tony Green from Auckland were third equal and received $1,000 each.

Awards judge Mary Kisler, Mackelvie Curator of International Art at the Auckland Art Gallery, said the winning artworks all exhibited strong expressions of each artist’s ideas and emotions.

“The simplicity of Quintin’s piece belies the tremendous amount of control required and is quite striking in its composition. The colours and style speak clearly of someone who knew exactly what they wanted to depict,” she said.

“Kenny Edge’s artwork was stunning because of the sheer process involved. He starts with collecting various objects and then integrating these into his work, with particular attention to their placement. The resulting effect is a sense of going back into time and distance.

“Sharon’s collage reveals a keen sense of observation and clever inclusion of still life elements, while Tony’s ‘Step to Heaven’ piece stood out for the different medium and very fine layering of colours.”

IHC National President Tony Shaw said the IHC Telecom Art Awards are proving an outstanding success.

“We established the Awards last year with Telecom’s support as a means of fostering and showcasing the extraordinary talents and perspectives of New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities.

“When you read the descriptions of the finalists’ artworks and gain an insight into the personal challenges they’ve overcome, you can’t help but appreciate just how extraordinary their lives are,” he said.

Over 400 artworks were submitted for the Awards by artists with intellectual disabilities throughout New Zealand and, from these, 30 artworks were selected for display at The Dowse gallery in Lower Hutt. The exhibition continues until 10 July, or the exhibited artworks can be viewed online at www.ihc.org.nz

ENDS

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