NADC Fine Arts at the Hawkesbury Art Prize

Inanimate, by Robert Musgrave, black and white photographs, 2012

Recent Fine Arts graduate Robert Musgrave has been selected as a finalist in the 2012 Hawkesbury Art Prize. The non-acquisitive award has a $10, 000 first prize, and opens on Saturday the 17th of November at 6pm, at Purple Noon Gallery.

 Other finalists include our past graduate Louisa Antico, and Jody Graham from the Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts. Good luck to all!

http://purplenoongallery.com.au/art-prize-2/

NADC at the Fisher's Ghost Art Award

Cath Barcan, Untitled image from the series 'Film', inkjet pigment print,
 35cm x 50cm, 2012 
This work won the Photographic Award, Fisher's Ghost Art Award, 2012.

A huge crowd filled the Campbelltown Arts Centre for the 50th Fisher's Ghost Art Award on Friday night. Amongst the artists included in the exhibition were NADC staff Nerine Martini and Cath Barcan. Also selected as finalists were current students Nawal Khatiwada, Julieanne Bartolo, Ruma Hort, Barbara Hellman and Katherine Kennedy. In addition, numerous graduates of fine arts at NADC were amongst the selected artists. And if that isn't enough, did we mention that fine arts T.O. Ricardo Della-Ricca helped install the show in his other role as freelance preparator?

The Fisher's Ghost Art Award offers a  first prize of $40,000  which was taken out by Raquel Ormella. Raquel is now a very successful Australian visual artist who started her art training with us at Penrith TAFE some twenty years ago.

The Fisher's Ghost Art Award has numerous category prizes, and Fine Arts Head Teacher Cath Barcan won the Photographic Award. Her winning image is pictured above.

The Judges for the prizes were Natasha Bullock, Curator Contemporary Art, Art Gallery of NSW, Lisa Havilah, Director  of Carriageworks, and Keith Munro, Curator Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Programs, Museum of Contemporary Art.

Congratulations to all NADC participants on your involvement in this show.

3d Miniworks

3D Miniworks

3d Miniworks is our annual competition for sculptural work, less the 150 mm in any dimension.

Diana Robson – Curator of the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery was this years judge and announced her selection for the finalists and prize winners.

The 20 works will have their work exhibited at the Hawkesbury Regional Gallery in December. Details of this show to follow later.

The 20 finalists are: Caitlin Chapman "Planets"; Jeffrey Alexander "Sepik Dreaming" and "Bow Wow"; Cath Randall "Green Power"; Lisa MacKay "Fox and Wolf"; Alison Shore "Any Advice Dr Pat?"; Carolyn Eadie "Black and White (I need a Place To Read)", Ruma Hort "Sempervium 1" and Sempervium11". Kim Cooke "Rockmelon", Sheryl Anderson "Seed Pod Series" and "Open Seed Pod"; Sophie Abbott "Dear Deer"; Calen Starling "Jurassic Park" and "Hell Boy" and "E=mc2" Bron Newman "The White Rider (after SH)"; Paul Gould "Toxic Planet Dog"; Robert Linigen "Head"

And the winners are...
1 Calen Starling, "Hellboy" $200 prize from Western Sydney Institute
2 Sheryl Anderson "Open Seed Pod" $100 prize from Artsup
3 Bron Newman "The White Rider (After SH)" $100 prize from Hawkesbury Regional Gallery

Have a look at images of the finalists at our Flickr site

"Hellboy" Calen Starling 

Congratulations to the winners, finalists and all the entrants. Thanks to Diana Robson from Hawkesbury Regional Gallery and everyone involved in organising th eshow, particularly Susan Jorgensen and Paul Gould.

Miniworks on now!

MINIWORKS  2012 is our much loved annual 3D exhibition and competition. This exhibition comprises of sculptural and 3 dimensional work by NADC students and staff, with the only restriction being the work must be no larger than 15cm in any direction. The opening is at 12pm - 13pm at C Block

You are welcome to come and join us as Diana Robson – Curator of the Hawkesbury Regional gallery announces her selection for the finalists and first prize winner.

Cathy O Donnell showing in Queensland

Catherine O'Donnell - drawing and history teacher at NADC   is currently showing in 'Venetian Visions' at Caloundra Regional Gallery (11 July to 12 August 2012) in Queensland.

Catherine's fabulous drawing exhibition is a result of winning the prestigious Albany Art Prize and its accompanying residency in Venice, Italy in 2009.

The exhibition has been touring around the east coast of Australia for the past year. In the exhibition is a suite of large-scale charcoal drawings of the Venetian landscape exploring the architecture, culture and history of everyday Venice.

Catherine spent the weekend as the guest of the Regional Gallery delivering a formal guest lecture and talks reflecting on the works in 'Venetian Visions' to gallery patrons. Catherine also delivered a booked out drawing workshop which was so popular a waiting list had to be created. Congrats to you Cath!

Bruni's in the Silk Cut too!

The work by Bruni Guenther-Tsapilis selected in the Silk Cut Award

Stop Press! A THIRD printmaker from NADC is included in the prestigious Silk Cut award! A print by 2011 Advanced Diploma of Fine Art graduate Bruni Gunther Tsapilis  has also been selected. Congratulations to you too Bruni!

Two fine art students selected for the Silk Cut Award

Dead Love' by Carol Ann Fitzgerald, selected for the 2012 Silk Cut Award for Linocut Prints

 Congratulations to Carol Ann Fitzgerald, Program of Selected Study, printmaking, and Ruma Hort, Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts, who have both been selected for the Silk Cut Award for Linocut Prints. The Silk Cut Award is one of the country's most prestigious printmaking awards, and many of Australia's finest printmakers vie for selection in this exhibition. Congratulations to our students on their selection, and good luck with the judging in September, we have our fingers crossed for you!

'Syzygy,' by Ruma Hort selected for the 2012 Silk Cut Award for Linocut Prints

  

Hidden 2012

Congratulations to staff members Stephen Hall and Aiden Harris  who have  been selected for the fourth annual Hidden : Rookwood Sculpture Walk. The exhibition invites  audiences to explore the historic cemetery and find the sculptures  installed within  the grounds.
All artworks selected into Hidden 2012 are short listed for the Rookwood Necropolis Sculpture Award -  a $5,000.00 non-acquisitive award.

 'With views of the city on the horizon, this site offers artists a rare opportunity to showcase their work in an extremely thought provoking context'.

"The Limner Loses"

gouache on a photographic image on watercolour paper

 Image from Stephens proposal for Hidden 2012

Simon Cook - Sculpture Award Finalist

Congratulation to Simon Cook, a graduate of the Certificate 3 in Ceramics in 2011, who has been selected as a finalist in the UWS Sculpture Award.

"The UWS Sculpture Award showcases major works by significant Australian artists, some of whom have created sculptures especially for the University's Campbelltown Campus."
The Acquisitive prize is valued at up to $25,000.

"The UWS Sculpture Award and Exhibition aims to establish closer links between the University and artists, and engage with the community by providing a valuable educational and cultural resource, as well as enhancing the campus environment for teaching and learning."

Have a virtual tour of the work here

You can even vote for Simon in the People Choice Award.

Fine Arts graduate wins 'best in show'

'softe', inkjet pigment print 60cmx80cm

Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts graduate Amanda Mayrhofer has won 'best in show' for her artwork, 'Softe' at the 2012 Winmalee Artfest. Amanda's large-scale photograph was produced in the photographic studios at NADC using a CanonEOS 5D Mark II  and MP-E65mm F/2.8 1-5X macro lens. Congratulations to Amanda for taking home the $1500 first prize. Amanda intends to spend the money on a macro lens to enable her to continue her fascination with this style of imagry.

Drawing Prize Finalist

Congratulations are in order for yet another staff member, this time Catherine O' Donnell  who has been selected  for the The Rick Amor Drawing Prize 2012

Rick Amor, one of Australia's leading contemporary artists, has sponsored a $10,000 acquisitive prize for small drawings at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. In sponsoring the prize, Amor says "I hope that this prize gives people one more reason to keep drawing on paper… the most direct and intimate expression of an artist's sensibility".

70 finalists were chosen from a field of nearly 600 submissions, all of drawings no larger than 76 x 56cm.

                             Catherine O' Donnell - Block 253,  Charcoal on Paper  70X53cm 2012

Staff finalists in Painting Prize

Congratulations to  our new full time painting and drawing teacher Tim Allen , selected as a finalist in the 2012 NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize. Congratulations also to  fellow Fine Arts teacher Stephen Hall who has also been selected.

The term ‘en plein air’ refers to the practice of painting out of doors, in direct engagement with nature. Tim described this practice in relation to his selected entry:


“This work was created over Easter 2012, at a property outside Cooma on the Monaro Plains. The collections of granite boulders and dieback trees that dot the property have the starkness of the European romantic tradition. This was emphasised on the day of this painting when the initially sunny day quickly transformed as a strong southerly front brought an unseasonal snowstorm. The energy and tension imbued into an artwork by the unpredictability of working en plein air is what I love about the process. The day finished with a beer, contemplating the painting on the veranda as snow fell and the other artists started a snowfight'

The finalists are on display at NSW Parliament in the Fountain Court until 31^st May. The exhibition is open Monday to Friday, 8.00am – 5.30pm.  

Tim Allen -  Granite Fields Monaro Plains

Jennifer Gabbay finalist in Portia Geach Memorial Award, 2011

 

Jennifer Gabbay,  'Fragments of Myself', oil on board, 100cm x 80cm, 2011

Blue Mountains artist, and Diploma of Fine Art Year 2 student Jennifer Gabbay has been selected as one of 50 finalists in the prestigious Portia Geach Memorial Award for 2011.
 

The winner was announced at an official opening on Thursday 22nd September 2011 at the S.H.Ervin Gallery, Watson Road, Observatory Hill, The Rocks in Sydney and is open to the public from Friday 23 September  until Saturday 6 November 2011. After the initial showing, the exhibition will tour to the Tweed River Art Gallery at Murwillumbah, Northern NSW from 3 February to 18 March 2012.

 
The Portia Geach Memorial Award was established 50 years ago and has become Australia’s leading prize for portraiture by female artists.  Worth $18,000, its winners have included Jenny Sages, Wendy Sharpe, Jenny Watson and Nancy Borlase. Each year the award is held at the National Trust’s S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney.

Portia Geach (1873-1959) studied at the Melbourne National Gallery School and was a committed artist who had a talent for portraiture, which later became her specialty.  In 1896 she was the first Australian to be awarded a tuition scholarship to London’s influential Royal Academy.  Aside from her art, she was also zealous about feminism and spent much of her life fighting for the rights of women.  

Congratulations to Jennifer on being included in this prestigious show.

Carol Fitzgerald selected for postcard publication

Carol Fitzgerald,'the flock', 2010

Advanced Diploma of Fine Art student Carol Fitzgerald is one of 12 finalists selected in the Co-op bookshop's postcard competition. 12  national finalists have been selected from art and design schools, and Carol's work will be available in Co-op Bookstores Australia wide.

Carol created her design by using a part of a drawing she produced in her Diploma of Fine Art class in 2010.
See all the winners at:
http://www.studentart.com.au/gallery.php?id=7&cat=FineArts&winners

Call for Entries: our Annual 3D miniworks competition.

Jackie Graves, 'Milly' mixed media, 2010, approx 15 x15 x 15cm, selected finalist 2010.

The Fine Arts section at Nepean Arts and Design Centre is now calling for entries for our annual 3D miniworks competition.

The competition and exhibition is open to students and staff of  NADC (although only students are eligible for the prize money).

The work entered must be no larger than 15cm in any direction, and a completed form must accompany every entry. Entry forms can be collected in C or P Block, or fine arts students can download them from the wiki:

http://finearts-studentinfo.westernsydneyinstitute.wikispaces.net/announcements

Key dates:

Exhibition opens Wednesday August 10, at 12 O' Clock in C Block.

Work must be delivered to C block between Monday 1st August and Wednesday 3rd August.

Exhibition finishes  Friday August 25th, 2011.

There will be a $200  prize for the best student work, and 10 finalists will be selected for an exhibition at an off-campus Gallery.

More than one work may be entered; however the organizers reserve the right to select where more than one work has been entered, if there is a shortage of space.

Work wil be displayed in the locked glass cabinets in C Block, and therefore must be freestanding. Fragile or installation work must be installed by the entrant in consultation with the organizers.

To see the finalists selected last year, click here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsifineart/sets/72157624685363345/

Good luck!

Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize calls for entries

Archie Moor, Humpy Goona, winner 2010 Woollahra small sculpture prize.

Those who have entered NADC's annual mini-works exhibition in the past, or plan to enter this July, may also wish to consider entering the Woollahra Small Sculture Prize

The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize is now in its 11th year, and is the only national prize for free standing sculptures with dimensions less than 80 centimetres. Entries for the annual prize opened on the 1st of May.

The prize will be judged by leading art identities Dr Gene Sherman AM, Executive Director of the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, and Professor Ted Snell AM, Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council, Director of the Cultural Precinct for the University of Western Australia.
The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize includes:

• An acquisitive award of $10,000;
• The Special Commendation, non-acquisitive award of $2,000; and
• The Viewer’s Choice, non-acquisitive award, of $1,000.

Woollahra Mayor Isabelle Shapiro said more than 500 entries are expected this year. “Size is certainly no obstacle when it comes to creativity or imagination,” she said.

“Over the past decade, we have seen an amazing variety of sculptures from a flying horse made from bullets, shells, chrome and blue tongue lizard skin to a forest made of sandstone.

“Some of the other unique materials that have been used to create sculptures have included stainless steel pot scourers, entomology pins, kangaroo fur, a pair of old boots and concrete.

“I am looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises there will be in this year’s competition.”

Entry forms are available on the website from 9am on Sunday 1 May. Sculptures must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 5 August. Finalists will be selected in mid-August with winners being announced on Friday 21 October. Go to http://sculptureprize.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/

The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday 22 October to Sunday 6 November.

Jennifer Gabbay selected as finalist for the Calleen Art Award

Jennifer Gabbay, 'I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone', oil on board, 120cm x 80cm, 2011.

Congratulations to Jennifer Gabbay, currently enrolled in the Diploma of Fine Arts, who has been selected as a finalist for the Calleen Art Award to be held at Cowra Regional Art Gallery. Jennifer was selected with her painting 'I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone', pictured above.

A former winner of NADC's  Student Acquisitive Art Prize painting division, Jennifer  has a busy exhibition schedule at the moment, as she will also be exhibiting at the University of Western Sydney's Kingswood campus next month, in a four person group show.

Amanda Mayrhofer selected for the Gallipoli Art Prize

Amanda Mayrhofer, Remember Me, oil on canvas, 60cm x 90cm, 2011

2010 NADC Advanced Diploma of Fine Art graduate Amanda Mayrhofer has been selected as a finalist for the Gallipoli Art Prize. Amanda's painting, which features an image of Flander's poppies, will be on display in the Gallipoli Club in Loftus St, Sydney CBD from April 21st to May 1st.

Having just won the painting division of NADC's Student Acquisitive Art Prize with her painting of a Chinese Lantern flower, Amanda's beautiful depictions of flowers are really striking a chord at the moment.

Amanda has been selected as a finalist alongside some of Australia's best-known painters including Garry Shead and Robert Hannaford.

The winner of the $20, 000 Gallipoli Art Prize will be announced on the 20th  of April.

Congratulations on your selection as a finalist Amanda, and good luck on the 20th!

Congratulations to our Winners!

Printmaking category winner Sean Sweeney with his self-portrait linocut.

A large crowd packed into the Trapezium Gallery on Wednesday to hear  Nepean College Director Ann Beerden announce the winners the opening of the 2011 Student Acquisitive Art Prize.

As one of the panel of three judges, Ann Beerden announced the artists selected: Amanda Mayrhofer for painting, Sean Sweeney for printmaking, Peter Lewis for ceramics, Robert Musgrave for photography and Helen Nairn for drawing. Congratulations to all!

All artists selected for the exhibition were included because of the high standard of their work, and their professional attitude to presentation and exhibition practice. Ann praised the quality of all work on display, and conveyed the difficulty the judges had in making the decision.

There were three judges for this year's prize. Adnan Begic joined us as our external industry expert. Adnan co-ordinates St Mary's Corner, a local cultural precinct administered by Penrith City Council. As well as his current role, Adnan has a background in both  art practice and curatorial practice. College Directors Ann Beerden, and Cecelia Celesio also brought their expertise to the task.

Congratulations to all the artists in the show, we expect to hear more from you and your careers in the future!

The exhibition is open until February 24 at the Trapezium Gallery, Building P, Nepean College Kingswood. Gallery hours 9am-4pm, Monday to Friday.

Catherine O'Donnell and Stephen Hall in the Dobell Prize

Stephen Hall and Catherine O' Donnell at the opening of the 2010 Dobell Prize

NADC Fine Arts teachers Catherine O'Donnell and Stephen Hall are both represented in this year's Dobell Prize for Drawing at the Art Gallery of NSW. The Dobell Prize is a long running prestigious drawing prize, and we are thrilled to have two of our teachers represented. The exhibition is on display at the Art Gallery of NSW until January 30, 2011.

 Catherine and Stephen's work selected for the Prize can be seen below:

 Catherine O'Donnell, 'no 19', charcoal on paper, 2010

Stephen Hall, 'the limner and his steed rest', mixed media on paper, 2010.