Speaking volumes: on our love affair with art books
The growing cultural interest in art books reflects the enduring power of the printed word. Jane O’Sullivan takes a closer look.
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Congratulations to Joanna Chew, who has won the 2023 Glover Prize for her painting Tender.
Chew, a Tasmanian-based artist, wins $75,000 for the painting, which depicts a three-legged dog standing in front of a tent and caravan, a commentary on the accessibility of the housing market.
In her artist’s statement, Chew describes how “Images of tents and caravans were frequently in the news at the beginning of 2018 when my daughter and I moved back to Hobart. We lived with my parents for a year, unable to find a rental we could afford. It was easy to see why more and more people were forced into solutions like setting up a temporary home at the Showgrounds – an option that will cease within the coming months.”
The 2023 Prize is judged by Suzanne Cotter, director of Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Tasmanian artist Lucienne Rickard, and director of Niagara Gallery, William Nuttall.
Suzanne Cotter says of the winning piece, “It is a complex painting that addresses contemporary life and themes of home and belonging at the same time as it speaks to a history of painting and the figure of John Glover himself, whose landscapes can be understood as a search for self-recognition in a world that was not his own.”
Among the 42 other finalists, two have been highly commended judges: Christina Fontana for her piece Inexhaustible Bounty, and Romany Mollison for her painting I’ll Wait for You.
The Hanger’s Choice award has also been announced, which is selected each year by the gallery hangers. This has been awarded to David Disher for his painting The end of the world is beautiful.
The exhibition is open to the public until Sunday 19 March, when two other prizes will be drawn: the People’s Choice and Children’s Choice, which receive $3,000 and $500 respectively.
The growing cultural interest in art books reflects the enduring power of the printed word. Jane O’Sullivan takes a closer look.
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