Fleurieu Art Prize: Shortlist Revealed

The shortlist, to be revealed in Adelaide tonight, includes work by artists Robert Hannaford, Richard Bell, Chris Orchard, Peter Daverington, Richard Dunlop, Dani Marti, Giles Alexander, Fiona Lowry and Tim Johnson. Nigel Hurst of London’s Saatchi Gallery, artist Michael Zavros and the Samstag Museum’s Erica Green are this year’s judges and will announce the overall winner at a gala cocktail party on October 26. Hurst praised the quality and individuality of the entries, saying those shortlisted were “quite remarkable”. “The primary focus on landscape is by no means limiting,” Hurst continued, “because the artists have absorbed many aspects of their contemporary environment and chosen very individual ways to communicate this, demonstrating extraordinary talent, energy and vision to create unique and very diverse work.” The shortlist includes work from artists from all states and territories of Australia, as well as an international entry. These were selected from a record 1226 first round entries. Fleurieu Art Prize General Manager Karen Paris says the artworks are very diverse in style, subject and technique. “The prize exhibitions will be very dynamic, with an intriguing range of interpretations of ‘landscape’, from contemporary to modern and traditional, and great variation in both subject matter and medium,” Paris says. “A quality contingent of works by indigenous artists has also been selected, including works by Margaret Loy Pula, Richard Bell, Josie Kunoth Petyarre and Gladdy Kemarre.” A collection of 37 artworks by South Australian artists working with a water or environmental sustainability theme have also been shortlisted for the $5,000 Local Water and Environment Prize, presented by Flinders University and announced on November 9. These exhibitions will be supported by an invitational sculpture exhibition, a youth sculpture commission and an invitational landscapes exhibition which will also be on display at Adelaide Airport. The finalist exhibitions will be held from October 26 to November 25 in galleries and wineries in the McLaren Vale and wider Fleurieu region. artprize.com.au   Images: 1. Richard Bell, Bible for Dummies 2. Robin Eley, Immersion