The Royal Institute of Oil Painters and Mall Galleries would like to congratulate all prizewinners and give a special thank you to all our prize-givers.
This year the exhibition is exclusively online but with videos, audio, images, and statements by the winners to watch, hear, see, and read, you can experience and enjoy the prize-winning works wherever you are.
The Prize Winners featured in Part One include:
The Phyllis Roberts Award
Hongyu An
Vestige
An award of £2,000 for an artist aged 30 or under
Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award: First Prize
Ruth Fitton
Self Portrait in Miniature
For artists aged 30 or under - First Prize: £1,000 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials
I celebrated the return to my studio post-lockdown by painting this self-portrait, from life, over a couple of days.
Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award: Second Prize
Anna Calleja
Alone in Quarantine
For artists aged 30 or under - Second Prize: £600 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials
This is a self-portrait I painted during my time in mandatory quarantine after a two-day journey from Cornwall to my home country Malta in April this year.
I aimed to capture the moment; the claustrophobia and brewing unease I felt at the time. The painting challenges the historical trope of the reclining female nude in figurative painting. Here the figure does not activate the male gaze but is passive, independent and introspective.
The stillness of the figure is juxtaposed with the moving abstraction in the painting above. The abstraction embodies the disquiet within, reflecting upon the present moment.
Winsor & Newton Young Artist Award: Third Prize
Bernadett Timko
Chris' Kitchen
For artists aged 30 or under - Third Prize: £400 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials
Winsor & Newton Non-member Award
Andrew Newton
Lip Gloss
Non-member Award - £150 worth of Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials
This piece is an extension of my hyper-realism series of portraits I created a while ago. The theme is everyday, banal life of the individual which is left vulnerable and cold for the scrutiny of the observer.
The painting is overly detailed like a photo as the work ultimately isn't about the person, but the act of viewing people as monotony and awkward imperfection in analysing clarity, like a found object.
Originally inspired by the photo-realist movement of the 1970s, the piece is, therefore, a relative symbol of modern-day life, the obsession with photographic selfies, transient experience and the emphasis on image and the moment.
This style of work is a direct response to photoshop glamour, fashion and social media narcissism which escalated in the early 21st century.
- The Royal Institute of Oil Painters Prizes & Awards Part Two
- The Royal Institute of Oil Painters Prizes & Awards Part Three