A “joyous and exuberant” work by artist Genevieve Carroll has won the Pro Hart Prize for Hanging Art in the 2015 Art Unlimited competition, held at Dunedoo on the weekend.
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Ms Carroll was awarded the $3000 prize for her oil on canvas diptych titled Tugging the World to Fruit.
Judge and Orange Regional Art Gallery director Lisa Loader described the painting as a “joyous, exuberant and powerful” work.
“Genevieve Carroll’s brushwork is assured and the composition well resolved,” she said.
“In a very strong exhibition that presented a difficult exercise to choose a winner, the work stood out.”
Ms Carroll’s work was chosen from 236 entries in the competition’s Hanging Art Category.
The $3000 prize is donated each year by Raylee Hart, widow of iconic outback painter Pro Hart, in memory of her husband who was committed to making art accessible to people in regional Australia.
Ms Carroll’s work has been Highly Commended in two previous Art Unlimited competitions.
She works from a beautifully conserved heritage studio at her home in Hill End and her work in textiles, painting, drawing and sculpture has been exhibited widely at galleries in both regional and metropolitan Australia.
The $3000 Printstorm Photography Prize was awarded to Alf Manciagli of Orange NSW for his portrait The Thespian.
Judge Bob Hughes chose the work from 91 entries and described it as a work with great impact.
“The locals also take the opportunity for a night out to get dressed up.”
“The subject’s look of bemusement – or could it be resignation? – has an ambiguity that holds us beyond the first glance,” he said.
“The rich black and white and great detail make for a technically very good print that pops with meaning,” Hughes said.
The $3000 Art Unlimited Ceramics Prize was won by Anne Mossman of Elanora, Queensland, for My Landscapes, described by judge Nerrida Barber as “exquisite”.
Ms Barber commented on the exceptionally high standard of work the category attracted.
Art Unlimited has been running for seven years and has been acclaimed for its high-quality art.
This year’s event attracted more than 400 entrants over three fields: hanging art, photography and ceramics.
Event manager Penny Steven said the exhibition had a wide range of art including abstract, contemporary and traditional.
“There are beautiful ceramics from some of Australia’s leading potters and exciting expressions in photography.
“It’s a very ambitious event to put together,” she said.
Arts Unlimited committee member Marianne Deutscher said the event was such a fun night out for such a small town.
“A lot of the artists from out of town stay for the weekend to see the pieces and attend the opening night,” she said.
“The locals also take the opportunity for a night out to get dressed up.”
Ms Deutscher said tickets to attend the opening on Friday evening sold out weeks in advance.
“We had to stop selling tickets when we reached the 300 mark,” she said.
Other winners in Art Unlimited 2015 were:
Fairview Artspace Prize: Pippa Kensit (Crookwell), The Land Unpeeled (Ceramic work);
Orana Arts Indigenous Artist Prize: Jordan Shillingsworth, (Dubbo), My Perspective (Photography);
ABC Western Plains Prize: Geoff Thomas (Gilgandra), Jar (Ceramic);
Janace Holmes Family Memorial Prize: Barbara Bidencope, (Tamworth), Petunia Possum (Hanging Art work).
