Matt Hewson
Geelong Gallery has announced the shortlisted works for its annual Geelong Contemporary Art Prize.
The shortlist for the prestigious acquisitive prize, worth $30,000 to the winning artist, includes 31 emerging and established artists from around Australia, with representatives from every state and territory including 22 from Victoria.
The prize has a long history at Geelong Gallery, with the first painting prize the Geelong Centenary Art Competition held in 1938 to celebrate the city’s centenary.
The 2024 judging panel includes UNSW Galleries director José Da Silva, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s senior curator of exhibitions Jane Devery and Geelong Gallery director and chief executive Jason Smith.
Mr Smith said the overall quality of shortlisted works was “exceptionally high” this year.
“This is the benefit of having three selectors/judges,” he said.
“While we might have differing aesthetic interests and areas of research, we each have a strong eye for what makes a resolved and convincing – or communicative, thought-provoking – work of art, and in the case of this prize, a conceptually and formally outstanding painting.
“The breadth of styles and techniques used is wildly varied and one of the most wonderful things about reviewing 560 entries from around the country is that it provides the judges with a survey of so many different approaches to some contemporary painting practices.”
Mr Smith said he particularly enjoyed seeing the “sheer diversity of artists’ visions”.
“I enjoy seeing how artists interpret our times,” he said.
“How they see and feel the world. In the 2024 Prize there is joy, but there is also melancholy.”
The winner of the Geelong Contemporary Art Prize will be announced on Friday, August 9.
