Callum Morton curates 2017 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize

Morton selects 20 leading Australian contemporary artists to form the foundation of the Exhibition at Sydney’s National Art School Gallery

Twenty of Australia’s most respected contemporary artists, including three artist collectives and one artist duo, have been selected by guest curator Callum Morton to present work in the 2017 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize at the National Art School Gallery in Sydney from 28 March until 20 May 2017.

The established artists selected to participate in the 21st annual Prize by Callum Morton – himself a highly respected Australian artist who won the Prize in 2013 – include some of the country’s brightest contemporary art stars. Daniel von Sturmer, an Australian representative at the Venice Biennale in 2007 along with curator Callum Morton, acclaimed Aboriginal photomedia artist Christian Thompson, and recipient of the 2016 Biennale of Sydney Legacy Artwork Agatha Gothe-Snape are amongst the artists.

The 2017 Prize features a number of artist groups and artists who work collaboratively as part of their practices. These include Barbara Cleveland, Damp, A Constructed World, and artist duo David Haines and Joyce Hinterding.

2017 guest curator Callum Morton commented on his inclusion of artist groups and duos: “I wanted to include these practices because, for one, they have been and increasingly, are a very important part of the cultural landscape of this country and also because they tend to be excluded from the mainstream which consistently prefers the individual narrative to the collective one.”

The selected established artists for 2017 are: Jon Campbell, Nick Mangan, Damiano Bertoli, Spiros Panigirakis, Daniel von Sturmer, Stuart Ringholt, A Constructed World, Barbara Cleveland, Agatha Gothe-Snape, John Meade, Dan Moynihan, Laresa Kosloff, Zanny Begg, Kusum Normoyle, Damp, Lisa Radford, Diena Georgetti, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Christian Thompson and Steven Rhall.

All participating artists submit a single recent work to contend for one of two prizes. The main award for established artists is the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize, valued at $25,000 and sponsored by Konica Minolta for the fifth consecutive year. The Emerging Artist Prize is valued at $10,000 and is sponsored by the Glenburn Pastoral Company (Brett Whitford).
2017 guest curator Callum Morton added: “I looked at the past inclusions in the exhibition and realised how many excellent artists had never been invited to show. So I decided only to invite artists that hadn’t been included before. I also wanted to include people who had a direct connection to a younger generation through their various communities, so that the conversation between the generations might make some sense when assembled together.”

The Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize was established in 1996 by Redlands School and has been presented at the National Art School Gallery since 2012. Participating artists have no limitations on their choice of media or subject matter, however the Prize’s model requires each selected artist to nominate one emerging contemporary artist to participate in the exhibition. This pairing of established and emerging artists seeks to encourage mentoring relationships between different generations of artists.

The two winning artworks in the established and emerging categories will become part of Redlands School’s permanent art collection, providing a valuable resource for visual arts students and teachers. Over the past two decades Redlands School has built a unique and remarkable collection of major works by some of Australia’s most sought-after contemporary artists including past winners Pat Brassington (2016), Mikala Dwyer (2015), Vernon Ah Kee (2014), Callum Morton (2013), Ben Quilty (2012), Rodney Pople (2006), Lindy Lee (1998), Gordon Bennett (1997) and Imants Tillers (1996).

The 2017 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize will be exhibited from 28 March until 20 May 2017 at the National Art School Gallery in Sydney’s Darlinghurst, with Prize winners to be awarded at an opening event at the Gallery presented on the evening of 28 March 2017. 

EXHIBITION DETAILS: The 2017 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize will be exhibited from 28 March 2017 until 20 May 2017 at the National Art School Gallery (NAS Gallery), located within the National Art School’s historic campus on the corner of Forbes and Burton Streets, Sydney NSW. The winners of the established and emerging artist awards will be announced on 27 March 2017 at a media preview at NAS Gallery with details to be provided closer to the time. The exhibition is free of charge and open to the public and all works are available for purchase with the exception of the winning works that are acquired into the permanent art collection of Redlands School, in accordance with the tradition of the Prize.

For more information on the Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize including previous winners visit: https://www.redlands.nsw.edu.au/go/redlands-community/redlands-konica-minolta-art-prize

2017 REDLANDS KONICA MINOLTA ART PRIZE ESTABLISHED ARTIST LIST: Jon Campbell, Nick Mangan, Damiano Bertoli, Spiros Panigirakis, Daniel von Sturmer, Stuart Ringholt, A Constructed World, Barbara Cleveland, Agatha Gothe-Snape, John Meade, Dan Moynihan, Laresa Kosloff, Zanny Begg, Kusum Normoyle, Damp, Lisa Radford, Diena Georgetti, David Haines and Joyce Hinterding, Christian Thompson and Steven Rhall.
The emerging artist pairings for the 2017 Prize will be announced late February 2017.

CALLUM MORTON CURATORIAL STATEMENT:
My curatorial rationale was quite simple and in many ways, it is more structural than driven by particular themes/ideas. I looked at the past inclusions in the exhibition and realised how many excellent artists had never been invited to show. So I decided only to invite artists that hadn’t been included before.

2017 REDLANDS KONICA MINOLTA ART PRIZE
28 MARCH – 20 May 2017
NATIONAL ART SCHOOL GALLERY
It was also apparent that artists’ groups, or artists who worked collaboratively as a primary part of their practice, were also rarely represented in the past and so I wanted to include these practices because, for one, they have been and increasingly, are a very important part of the cultural landscape of this country and also because they tend to be excluded from the mainstream which consistently prefers the individual narrative to the collective one.
Finally, I wanted to include people who had a direct connection to a younger generation through their various communities, so that the conversation between the generations might make some sense when assembled together. For instance, there are many artists included who teach at a range of tertiary institutions around the country and who have had a significant and continuing influence on successive generations of artists.
This simple and inclusive structural shift means that the 2017 iteration of the Redlands Art Prize will have the largest and perhaps most diverse range of participants in its history.