Sydney-based artist Merran Esson has won the $20,000 acquisitive award in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2019. Her ceramic work Autumn on the Monaro will become part of the permanent collection at Woollahra Council.
The 19th iteration of the annual award for sculptural works that don’t exceed 80 centimetres in any dimension was judged by: Tim Ross, broadcaster, author and comedian; Professor Ross Harley from UNSW; and Louise Herron AM, CEO of the Sydney Opera House.
“Merran Esson has made a beautiful work that evokes the forms and atmosphere of the Monaro autumn,” commented Ross Harley. “The winning work displays a masterful use of material, palette and form but at the same time it has a warmth of emotion which draws the viewer into its field.”
Louise Heron said of Esson’s work, “The individual pieces of the winning work each have unique features but when placed together they read as a whole and the collective is made even more beautiful through its diversity, much like nature itself.”
The judges also gave the special commendation prize worth $2000 to Sydney-based artist Benjamin Jay Shand, and English artists Kieta Jackson and Jessica Leitmanis received special mentions. The $1000 Mayor’s award went to Adelaide-based artist Jane Price.
Works by all 43 finalists are on show at Woollahra Council in Double Bay, Sydney until 3 November.
Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Exhibition
Woollahra Council
12 October – 3 November 2019
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