Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize 09 finalists
WINNER ANNOUNCED
Melbourne artist Jan Nelson has been awarded $50,000 in Bendigo Art Gallery’s 2009 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize (AGMPP), Australia’s richest open painting prize.
The outstanding photo-realist painting Tom shows with remarkable technical virtuosity what is possible at the juncture of painting and photography. Although a painting, the stunning work hints at the obsession with youth and image in modern culture.
The judges commented, ‘Walking in Tall Grass (Tom) is a luminous painting that packs a punch despite its small size. It is an accomplished synthesis of style and subject, characterised by a conscious appropriation of contradictory styles that we recognise as decidedly contemporary. Its heightened colour, amazing detail and the scene in the mirrored sunglasses draw us into the world of the character Nelson depicts.'
About the Prize
Designed to attract some of Australia’s finest contemporary artists and high calibre works, the inaugural Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize and exhibition was held in 2003 at Bendigo Art Gallery.
Every two years the Gallery invites artists to submit entries for the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize. The most outstanding work as judged by the selection panel is awarded an acquisitive cash prize of $50,000. The Prize was initiated by Mr Allen Guy C.B.E in honour of his late brother Arthur Guy.
Arthur Guy was born in Melbourne on 24 November 1914, the first son for Arthur and Catherine Guy. He was the only and elder sibling of Allen Rupert Guy. Arthur was educated at Camp Hill State School in Bendigo and then at Ballarat Grammar School. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in a signals unit and served in New Guinea. On 14 February 1945, aged 30, he was on a biscuit bomber mission when his plane was shot down near Lae. He is buried in the Lae War Memorial Cemetery.
Jan Nelson
Walking in Tall Grass (Tom) 2009
oil on linen
Courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery
WINNER Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize 09