NZ Nominees for Signature Art Prize

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release

Singapore Art Museum and Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation announce nominations for the inaugural Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize

Thirty-four artworks by artists from 12 countries in Asia Pacific have been nominated for the inaugural Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation Signature Art Prize. Representing Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, one of these artists will have the distinction in October of winning the highest art prize awarded by a jury in the Southeast Asian region.

The APB Foundation Signature Art Prize series marks a 15-year partnership announced in October 2007 by Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and APB Foundation to develop and promote contemporary art in the region. development in contemporary art.

Chairman of the Advisory Committee, APB Foundation, Mr Koh Poh Tiong, said the intention for the APB Foundation Signature Art Prize was for its stature to be equivalent to that of the John Moores Painting Competition in the United Kingdom and the RBC Canadian Painting Competition in Canada.

The competition is open to all visual artworks regardless of medium, subject matter and size. The 34 artworks were nominated by respected individuals in the field of art in each country. Each nominator was asked to select up to three works that in their opinion represented an outstanding contemporary artwork produced in their country in the past three years.

In New Zealand, the three nominated artworks comprise a drawing, a sculpture and a painting.

Ms Kushana Bush’s Body Mound is a visually strong pencil and gouache on paper drawing of sprawling half-naked bodies piled on top of one another. Drawing on Eastern and Western traditions of art-making, the artist expresses her belief that man is searching for something beyond what material objects can afford.

Mr Iain Cheesman’s The Collector is a mixed media sculpture of a monkey called Kate, assembled from a wide array of found objects including carpet, styrofoam, cardboard, and doll eyes. Kate is based on the artist’s interest in the space programme of the 1950s and the use of live animals as passengers in early space flights.

Mr Philip Trusttum’s White Truck Large Wheels is a massive acrylic on canvas painting that was inspired by the collection of ‘Hot Wheels’ toys in his studio for when he babysits his grandson. The wheels are the focus of the painting and the artist ‘punched’ these small toys to a large scale to make them intimidate and dominate a wall, just as we are dominated by big trucks and automobiles in society. He also wanted to render them slightly silly and frivolous.

These artworks were nominated by Mr. Warren Feeney, the director of New Zealand’s Centre of Contemporary Art.

In August, the 34 nominees will be cut to a shortlist of 10 artists who will be in the running for the five awards - three Juror’s Choice Awards of SGD 10,000 each, a SGD 10,000 People’s Choice Award and the Grand Prize of SGD 45,000.

An international jury panel will also be announced in August and a voting website will be launched at that time to provide a platform for the public to vote for their favourite artwork; the artist whose work gets the most public votes will receive the People’s Choice Award. From October to November, Singapore Art Museum will hold an exhibition showcasing the 10 finalist works in the competition.

“The quality of the nominated artwork is remarkable. We are seeing an unexpected diversity of themes and mediums that augurs well for the contemporary art scene in the region”, the Director of the Singapore Art Museum, Mr Kwok Kian Chow, said today. “They will certainly provoke and stimulate lively public debate about contemporary art in the region, which is exactly the aim of the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize.”

More information on the ABP Foundation Signature Art Prize can be found at http://www.nhb.gov.sg/SAM/signatureartprize

APB Foundation Signature Art Prize: New Zealand Nominated Artworks

NEW ZEALAND

Kushana Bush
Body Mound, 2007
Pencil and gouache on paper, 59(h) x 79(w) cm
Iain Cheesman
The Collector, 2007
Mixed media – found objects, 100.6(h) x 60(w) x 60(d) cm

Philip Trusttum
White Truck Large Wheels, 2006
Acrylic on canvas, 290(h) x 700(w) cm,
Total 8 pieces

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Singapore Art Muesum and Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation – New Zealand nominated artists

Background Information

New Zealand
In New Zealand, the three nominated artworks comprise a drawing, a sculpture and a painting.

Ms Kushana Bush’s Body Mound is a visually strong pencil and gouache on paper drawing of sprawling half-naked bodies piled on top of one another. Drawing on Eastern and Western traditions of art-making, the artist expresses her belief that man is searching for something beyond what material objects can afford.

Mr Iain Cheesman’s The Collector is a mixed media sculpture of a monkey called Kate, assembled from a wide array of found objects including carpet, styrofoam, cardboard, and doll eyes. Kate is based on the artist’s interest in the space programme of the 1950s and the use of live animals as passengers in early space flights.

Mr Philip Trusttum’s White Truck Large Wheels is a massive acrylic on canvas painting that was inspired by the collection of ‘Hot Wheels’ toys in his studio for when he babysits his grandson. The wheels are the focus of the painting and the artist ‘punched’ these small toys to a large scale to make them intimidate and dominate a wall, just as we are dominated by big trucks and automobiles in society. He also wanted to render them slightly silly and frivolous.

These artworks were nominated by Mr. Warren Feeney, the director of New Zealand’s Centre of Contemporary Art.

ENDS

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