Fine Arts Students Recognised

Fine Arts Students Recognised

Four fine art students have won $2,500 each in this year’s NZ Art Show Emerging Artist Awards. The awards are open to students studying towards a visual arts degree or diploma at an established New Zealand art school. Students are nominated by their tutors and the recipients are chosen by the Art Show’s selection panel.

The four Award winners are: Anna-Belle Graham, Hannah Watkinson and Sam Clague, all from the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts; and Mish O’Neill from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland. In addition to the $2,500 cash prize, winners receive the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work at the NZ Art Show, travel to and from Wellington, accommodation in Wellington, all courier expenses and two ticket to the Show’s Gala Evening on Thursday, 18 June.

Two further students, Miranda Joseph from the Otago Polytechnic’s Dunedin School of Art, and Simon Lundqvist from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, won recognition as finalists. They, along with the four Award winners, will also have their artworks exhibited in a dedicated gallery at this year’s NZ Art Show.

Established in 2012, the NZ Art Show’s Emerging Artist Awards recognise and encourage emerging artists and the role of this country’s art schools. These Awards are the result of the generosity of Wellington philanthropist Richard Nelson, who is a trustee of the NZ Art Show and the Awards official sponsor.

Mal Brow, NZ Art Show selection panel member and owner of Wellington’s 30 Upstairs Gallery said, “We were particularly impressed with the body of work submitted this year. That three of the four winners were from the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts is testament to the quality of the artists coming through Ilam under very good tutelage. It is encouraging to see such inspiring work being produced from the art schools which is a credit to both the students and their tutors.”

• Rangiora artist Anna-Belle Graham is studying toward a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts. Her series of paintings on hessian impressed the panel by the way they evoked emotion through a sense of intrigue and mystery.

• Hannah Watkinson from Christchurch is a photography student at the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts. Her work pushes the boundaries of psychological landscape photography showing how scenes of familiarity are transformed after dark.

• Sam Clague, a student at the University of Canterbury’s Ilam School of Fine Arts specialises in oil painting. The panel commented on the rawness and execution of his work depicting young New Zealand men hanging around drinking, and images sourced from digitally manipulated pornography transformed into a more painterly dialect.

• Auckland artist Mish O’Neill is a Bachelor of Fine Arts student majoring in photography at the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. Her passion is for the analogue world of the pinhole. Her beautifully executed Through Morning Light series is the result of collaboration with couples to record their most intimate act.

The two highly commended artists, Miranda Joseph from the Otago Polytechnic’s Dunedin School of Art, and Simon Lundqvist from the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, impressed the selection panel and consequently have been invited to join the four winners and exhibit their work at this year’s show:

• Dunedin artist Miranda Joseph graduated from the BVA Honours programme at the Otago Polytechnic’s Dunedin School of Art in 2014 and is currently studying toward a Masters degree at the Dunedin School of Art. Her Pool series of paintings was inspired by photographic images taken in and around the Moana pool complex in Dunedin.

• Simon Lundqvist is a Swedish painter and illustrator based in Auckland who is currently completing his BFA at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. His artworks explore how light plays on the subject’s face and figure through very thick or highly diluted paint.

Carla Russell, the NZ Art Show’s executive director said, “Congratulations to the winners, finalists and all those nominated for this year’s Emerging Art Awards. The work put forward this year reflects huge credit on all concerned and bodes exceptionally well for the future of New Zealand fine art.

The 2015 NZ Art Show takes place from June 19-21 in the Events Centre, Queens Wharf on the Wellington waterfront, with the Show’s opening Gala Evening being held on Thursday, 18 June.

The Art Show is open to the public by general admission. The art displayed is constantly changing so there is always something different to see. Tickets cost $10 each, concessions $7, with children 12 years and under free. Tickets can be purchased online athttp://artshow.co.nz/buy+tickets and door sales are also available.

ENDS

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