THE SIGNATURE ART PRIZE GALA WINNERS

Announcing the Winners of the 2021 Signature Art Prize! 

On Thursday the 23rd September, we were delighted to be joined by the 30 finalist artists from the 2021 Signature Art Prize, their family and friends and friends and family of the gallery at the Bankside Hotel, London. We can’t even begin to tell you how much the evening meant to us!

This year’s entrants all created their works during a once in a generation experience and many were still at university when the world changed. We were not sure what effect this would have on the artists or their art but the outcome has been one of inspirational creativity as the artists responded to not only the theme of the Prize ‘depicting their signature style’ but their experiences, expectations, understanding and ultimately realisation of the world we have lived in. Whilst some of the pieces here tonight directly and importantly relate to events we have experienced, others provide a more nuanced sense of what it has been like to be an emerging contemporary artist today.

The quality of the works selected by the judges yet again amazed us, as has the concepts behind the artworks and those they inspire in us the viewer. We hope that you will enjoy seeing the finalists and discovering the winners of each category.

PAINTING WINNER

Olive Curran

Olive Curren
Wimbledon College of Arts Ba (Hons) Fine Art

'Overlook'
100 × 100 × 0.1 cm
Photo transfer and Oil on Board
'My work is strongly inspired by found imagery of melancholic and nondescript interiors, mainly stills from films made in the 70s and 80s, and dramas set in that period. I start by combining the found image with my own photography of intriguing interiors, manipulating colour and composition so that the two images become indistinguishable from each other, using this as reference for my painting. Any sense of time and place is blurred and we are left in a sort of suspended world, a moment frozen in time.'

THE PAINTING FINALISTS

Christopher Grisley, Eve Smith, Imogen Knight, Ken Clarry, Alice Miller, Julia Silvester

THE PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM WINNER

Jacob Talbot

Jacob Talbot
Leeds Arts University (BA Cons Photography)

'Moment'
114 × 85 × 4 cm
Fine Art Giclée Print on Fibre Based Titanium Lustre 280gsm

'This piece was created 'in-camera' with limited post processing techniques, its uses an artist (Isabel Currie) as subject and is derived from a three (or more) hour sitting of continuous change and exploration. This piece is from a current investigation and ongoing series of work created as a reflection of the times we live in - whatever that entails.'

Heun Jung Kim, Neelam Bhullar, Marcel Top, Nigel Goldsmith, Tom Newhouse

THE SCULPTURE WINNER

Rufus Martin
Wimbledon College of the Arts Set Design for Screen

'Will'
30 × 45 × 35 cm
Terracotta

'The bust of Will is intended to be more than just a portrait of William, Architect and dancer, but a sculpture representative of the struggles and the ideals that face the queer community at large. The gesture of the head is intended to show Will's change in character and the new strength he has found as well as the romanticised features, the hint of the laurel showing the current shift in society, as we collectively change our direction of opinion when it comes to the rather beautiful and romantic ideology, aesthetic and thinking behind the queer community.'.

THE SCULPTURE FINALISTS

Shuai Zhang, Yanshan Ou, Bhairavi Yogasivam, Sharon Kwok, Juan Ramos

THE DRAWING AND PRINTMAKING WINNER

Ilona Skladzien

Ilona Skladzien
Bournemouth Arts University (MA in Fine Art)

'Mission Impossible'
170 × 150 × 10 cm
Black ink pen on napkin

''Mission impossible' was informed by online photographs and videos on Covid-19. I was taken by horrific but profound photographs showing our vulnerability. The ephemeral character of the work is emphasized by the watered down ink marks, very slowly, gradually fading away in the direct, strong sunlight, potentially leaving nothing but reminiscence of what was there before.'

Elyse Blackshaw, Lena Yokoyama, Pippa Healy, Karl-Peter Penke, Esther Schnerr,
Liorah Tchiprout

THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE WINNER

Margo van Rooyen

Margo van Rooyen
Royal College of Art, MA Print,
'Discarded 20, Constellation 1'
100 × 600 × 100 cm
Used Photolithography Plates and Aerosol

 'Much of my work shows my preoccupation with waste production. My work has always been simplistic and minimal, only containing what is necessary, but this has now upgraded to my fear of producing more waste that will fill up landfills and strangle our wildlife and oceans. The photolithographic plates used for Discarded were destined for the trash. Incidentally lithography is one of the mediums I am most fond of. I found that the plates were the perfect material to recreate my lithographs in three dimensional form without creating more waste. Each plate is bent and detailed by hand and the end sculpture shown is made of 20 individual pieces. The work is put together on site and it would be a great challenge to recreate it in the same form again. The site specific nature of the work is so important and plays a key role in the energy of the work. It has been shown in two other exhibitions (besides that of the one in the images) in varying number of plates (4 and 8); each time drawing off the space and surrounding area. The work speaks of the deep abyss and void that is sucking the world away.'

Adonia Hirst, Nancy Paulangelo