NSW artist Marcus Callum has been announced the winner of the prestigious 2015 Black Swan Prize for Portraiture with a stunning portrait of fellow Australian artist Abdul Abdullah titled “Wrecking Ball.”
Callum, who is currently completing a Masters of Fine Art at the New York Academy of Art, beat 39 other finalists to take out the $50,000 prize, which was donated by The Lester Group and awarded during a major ceremony at the Linton and Kay Galleries Perth.
The judging panel, which comprised National Portrait Gallery senior curator Christopher Chapman, Wesfarmers Arts curator Helen Carroll-Fairhall, and Perth artist Ben Joel, described “Wrecking Ball” as a “compelling example of the possibilities of contemporary portraiture.”
“The painting is a compelling example of the possibilities of contemporary portraiture,” the judges said. “While the sitter is outwardly recognisable, at the same time the portrait gives a very strong sense of a resourceful inner life and the sense of flux that characterizes selfhood. The artwork has been filtered and processed in a particularly inventive way. A very deliberate sense of perfected craft.”
Other winners on the night included WA artists Olivia Samec and Joshua Cocking, who were highly commended by the judges, and Jodi Daley from NSW who was awarded the $7,500 People’s Choice Award.
Marcus Callum was a finalist in the prestigious Archibald Prize for the three years in a row (2011, 2012 and 2013). He received the Dame Joan Sutherland Award in New York in 2014 and was a finalist in the Art Renewal Center International Salon in 2015.
The finalists are on show until 4pm Sunday October 4 at 137 St Georges Terrace, Perth.
