Image above: Christine Wrest-Smith Portrait of Susan Johnson oil on linen 122 x 92cm
Congratulations to Christine Wrest-Smith who has been selected for the Brisbane Portrait Prize with her painting of Susan Johnson!
Susan Johnson is an award-winning Brisbane writer, whose books have been shortlisted for many literary Prizes, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Queensland Premier’s Prize for fiction and the Nita B Kibble Award.
“Doing this portrait was one of the best experiences of my life. I was looking for a notable Brisbane sitter, and a friend introduced me to Susan. I’m a real reader, and I love writers, so there was a rich exchange.”
During sittings at Susan’s home, Christine Wrest-Smith sought ideas for the composition. “Susan is an accomplished, intelligent woman living a rich and fulfilling life whilst having experienced many joys and sorrows. In the work sits a sculpture of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite alluding to Susan’s successful memoir Aphrodite’s Breath reflecting recent travels with her late Mother Barbara.”
The exhibition will run between August 3rd and November 10th
in the slq Gallery at the Queensland State Library
Dale Cox Take your medicine 2023 acrylic on gold enamel on board framed 73 x 123 cm
Congratulations to Sue Anderson, Dale Cox, Rodney Forbes, Rick Matear and Christine Wrest-Smith who have been selected as Finalists for the Maritime Art Prize 2023.
The Mission to Seafarers Maritime Art Prize is back for it’s 21st year, and invited artists to respond to the theme of The Relationship of Humanity to the Sea. Hosted at the heritage-listed Mission building in Docklands, Melbourne has gained international recognition as a prestigious competition and boasts a $25,000 prize pool.
Congratulations to Dale Cox who received the Runner-Up Award for his painting Take your medicine.
Exhibition Open:
Friday 20 – Thursday 26 October
12pm – 8pm Daily
Exhibition Opening Night:
Thursday 19 October, 6pm
Image above: Mullock Heaps, Lightening Ridge 2022 oil on linen 91 x 122 cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
Congratulations to Christine Wrest-Smith who has been selected as a finalist in the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award 2022 for her work Mullock Heaps, Lightening Ridge 2022.
“This year I visited Lightening Ridge for the first time. I was struck by the transformation of the land into a “moonscape” of mullock heaps – debris that is mined from underground to source the elusive Opal that the region is renowned for. All that destruction for a few small stones?” – Christine Wrest-Smith, entry statement
The Fisher’s Ghost Art Award is an annual art prize held at Campbelltown Arts Centre that invites artists to submit works in a variety of artistic categories and mediums. Now in its 60th year, there is $72,000 in prize money to be won.
The Open Award, in which Wrest-Smith is a finalist, is acquisitive to the Campelltown City Council collection. This year, in celebration of the 60th anniversary, it is valued at $60,000. In the past the Open Award has been awarded to some of Australia’s most respected contemporary artists including Elisabeth Cummings, Khaled Sabsabi, Justene Williams, David Bromley, Marion Borgelt, Raquel Ormella, Philip Wolfhagen, Tina Havelock Stevens, Kuba Dorabialski and most recently, Robert Fielding.
All finalists’ works will be available for purchase.
Fisher’s Ghost Art Award 2022
Campbelltown Arts Centre
1 Art Gallery Rd, Campbelltown NSW 2560
29 October – 9 December 2022
Award Announcement: Friday 4 November 2022
Congratulations to Graeme Drendel, Michelle Hiscock, Martin King, Glenn Morgan, Mary Tonkin and Christine Wrest-Smith who are included in the 2022 Salon des Refusés – the alternative Archibald and Wynne Prize Selection.
In 1992, as a response to the overwhelming number of entries to the Archibald and Wynne Prize’s that were not selected for display, S H Ervin Gallery initiated The Salon des Refusés.
Since its launch the alternative display has gained momentum on par with The Archibald Prize and is fast becoming one of the most anticipated art prizes in the Sydney scene.
The Salon des Refusés exhibition at the S.H. Ervin Gallery has established an excellent reputation that rivals the selections in the ‘official’ exhibition, with works selected for quality, diversity, humour and experimentation, and which examine contemporary art practices, different approaches to portraiture and responses to the landscape.
In 2022, 55 works have been selected for the ‘alternative’ exhibition, with 38 from the Archibald Prize & 17 from the Wynne Prize by selectors Kon Gouriotis, editor Artist Profile magazine; Michael Hedger, director, Manly Art Gallery & Museum & Jane Watters, director, S.H. Ervin Gallery.
2022 Salon des Refusés
S H Ervin Gallery
May 14 – July 24
For more information and to see the complete list of selected artists click here.
ARCHIBALD PRIZE SELECTIONS
Graeme Drendel The Gardener- Portrait of Wendy (Wendy Horsburgh) oil on canvas 26 x 31 cm
Michelle Hiscock The Critic in Lockdown (Christopher Allen, art critic) oil on canvas 50 x 40 cm
Glenn Morgan Stuart @ Australian Galleries (Stuart Purves, gallerist) acrylic on board 98 x 74 cm
Christine Wrest-Smith Self Portrait black t-Shirt oil on linen 91 x 71 cm
WYNNE PRIZE SELECTIONS
Martin King the moment between sleeping and waking, double cross in the cosmos watercolour, pastel and oilstick on drafting film and paper 120 x 258 cm
Mary Tonkin Hot kiss, Kalorama oil on linen 183 x 213 cm
Having begun in 2007, The Percivals is an open competition for artists. While showcasing the outstanding and innovative work currently being produced by Australian artists, the competitions have also given many emerging artists an opportunity to engage with portraiture and share their expressions of themselves and those close to them.
Exhibition Dates
23 April – 3 July 2022
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery will be closed on Saturday 23 April from 10am – 1pm. The Percivals will instead open to the public on Saturday 23 April for the VIP launch event starting at 6pm.
The gallery have an exciting launch event organised, including live entertainment, roving artists and a licensed area for the general public in front of Perc Tucker Regional Gallery. This area will not be ticketed and include a big screen to broadcast the winners announcements.
Launch
Saturday 23 April 6pm for 6:30pm speeches (winners announced)
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
VIP Session (invite only)
6 – 7:30pm
General Admission Session
7:30 – 9pm
Free, limited ticketed event – Booking details coming soon.
Judges Talk
Sunday 24 April
11 – 12pm
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery
Free, limited ticketed event – Booking details coming soon. For more information please visit the website.
Jenny Rodgerson’s figurative paintings are powerful. They embody both a stillness and a potent sense of inhabited presence. In her distinctive nudes and self-portraits, the contrast between nuanced light and shade combines with a bold sense of colour to arrive at an arresting resolve that captures the essence, or what Wittgenstein would call, the “whatness” of the subject.
Rodgerson’s eclectic degrees include a Bachelor of Commerce, a Diploma of Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts. Currently, she works from her studio and lives in Castlemaine with her treasured dogs and chooks.
Prizes include the 2001 Australia Council New Work Development Grant, the 2016 Portia Geach Memorial Award and the Percival Portrait Painting Prize in 2018. Her self-portraits and figurative paintings are represented in private and public collections and she has exhibited in solo shows and regional galleries across Australia.
Image: Christine Wrest-Smith Body of Water – Portrait of Valerie Taylor AM 2022 oil on linen 71.5 x 81.5 cm
Painter and draughtsman Christine Wrest-Smith studied at Monash University, with a semester at the Prato, Italy. Over the past several years, Wrest-Smith has been creating large scale portraits of Australian artists. Wrest-Smith paints her sitters predominantly from life, capturing much about the artist’s inner world by incorporating elements of her subjects’ own artistic style and inspiration into her work. The unique characteristics of each sitter are masterfully rendered in oil paint; the sensitive portrayal of individuality, strength and fragility are testament to the artist’s close and perceptive observation.
Wrest-Smith’s works have been exhibited in Melbourne and Italy. She was awarded the Savage Club Prize in 2010 and the Masterworks Contemporary Art Prize in 2011. She has completed several portrait commissions and her work is held in public and private collections.
Visit the Australian Galleries online Stock Room to view available works by Jenny Rodgerson and Christine Wrest-Smith.
Rodney Forbes Able Seaman John Henry Jarrett, RAN 2022 oil on canvas, text panel 30 x 60 cm
Congratulations to Rodney Forbes and Christine Wrest-Smith, who have been selected as a finalists in the 2022 Gallipoli Art Prize.
The Gallipoli Art Prize is an annual acquisitive award administered by the Gallipoli Memorial Club. The Art Prize is awarded to the artist who best depicts the spirit of the Club’s creed: “there exists an obligation for all to preserve the special qualities of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship which were personified by the heroes of the Gallipoli Campaign and bequeathed to all humanity as a foundation of perpetual peace and universal freedom.”
The winner of the $20,000 art prize will be announced on 20 April.
All works will then be on exhibition at Cleland Bond Store, 33 Playfair Street, The Rocks, NSW from 21 April – 8 May 2022.
For more information, and to view all 2022 finalists, click here.
Rodney Forbes
‘John Henry (‘Jack’) Jarrett joined up at the outbreak of World War 2, aged 18. His ship, HMAS Perth fought with honours in the Mediterranean and the Far East before going down fighting, beside USS Houston, against a huge Japanese invasion fleet off Java.
Interned at Changi prison, Singapore, then brutally enslaved for years on the Thai-Burma ‘Death Railway’, he was transferred by ship, running the gauntlet of US submarine attacks, to Fukuoka, Japan. There he survived further slavery in a coal mine and intensive US bombing. At length freed, he was trans shipped through the radio-active ruins of Nagasaki to Melbourne, where he recuperated and was demobbed, aged 25.
The loyalty, respect, love of country, courage, comradeship and sacrifice of the Thai-Burma Railway prisoners of war is legendary. Jack exemplified them as the unassuming and courteous man I remember for his sense of humour and generosity. He overcame massive trauma to live a useful and full life and to me, he was a model for the best a man could be.’ – Rodney Forbes, 2022
Christine Wrest-Smith
Christine Wrest-Smith The Messenger 2022 oil on linen 112 x 112 cm
‘The Purple poppy was introduced some years ago, to signify the contribution of animals great and small during the Great wars.
It is a symbol of remembrance of the animals that number in their millions, whose sacrifices and deeds played such an important part during the conflicts. 16 million animals alone were used in WW1.
Horses, Camels, Donkeys and Mules were used in transport and carrying supplies as well as Medivac for the wounded. Dogs were trained for search and rescue, and used as ammunition guards and scouts for land mines. Cats and Dogs were used in trenches and on ships to protect food stores from vermin, Mice and Canaries for detecting poison gas.
A range of animals were present as pets and mascots, for much needed morale of their human comrades. The unconditional loyalty of a pet must have been an enormous comfort during the dreadful hardships of war.
Pigeons were imperative for communication during the war, as messengers. It is for this reason that I chose the pigeon in the form of a harbinger of peace as the subject of this work.’ – Christine Wrest-Smith, 2022