JOHN MOORES PAINTING PRIZE

Last chance to see

There is not long left to catch some of the UK’s most exciting contemporary paintings in the John Moores Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery until 6 January 2013.

The exhibition of 62 works, chosen from more than 3,000 submissions, includes the £25,000 first prize winning painting, Stevie Smith and the Willow by Sarah Pickstone.

The beguiling figure in Pickstone’s work, engulfed by the drooping branches of a weeping willow tree and delicate reflections in the water, is inspired by the poet Stevie Smith’s illustration for her 1957 poem, Not Waving but Drowning. 

Judge Fiona Banner described the painting: “It's a representation of the poet Stevie Smith in a deranged landscape. It's also a painting of one artist reflected through another, a meeting of literary and pictorial minds - an enigmatic double portrait that grapples with the creative self.”

The four other prize winners included in the exhibition are: The Greater Light by Biggs & Collings, M is many by Ian Law, Gallery by Stephen Nicholas and Untitled Kerbstone Painting (MJK) by Narbi Price. Each prize winner received £2,500.

A special judges’ commendation was given to Wayne Clough for his work, Down the Acapulco.

Elizabeth Magill won the popular £2,012 Visitors’ Choice prize (sponsored by Rathbones) with her stunning painting, Sighting.

Judge Alan Yentob said: “It was exhilarating to discover, in the course of viewing so much of the work submitted for this year's John Moores, that in Britain the art of painting is alive and well and bursting with ideas.

“The selection was tough because the quality was high, but the jury was especially impressed and heartened by the creativity and conviction on display in the final five prize winners. Yes, painting still matters”.

The UK’s biggest painting prize which opened as part of the Liverpool Biennial, is an eclectic collection. There are paintings on walls and the floor, painted garments, varying degrees of abstraction and works that respond to all kinds of themes.

The exhibition is open daily apart from 25 and 26 December and 1 January 2013.

John Moores Painting Prize 2012 exhibitors and works:

Eve Ackroyd              Dead Man

Henny Acloque          277

Kelly Best                   That place between 11 and 12

Biggs & Collings       The Greater Light

Katrina Blannin          Pink

James Bloomfield     Collateral Damage - The Killing Jar - 14.I.2012

Hannah Brown           Time Hangs Heavy 3

Jane Bustin                - sacrificed

                                    - to veil

                                   - sacrifiés

                                   - pour voiler                                                          

Graham Chorlton       Edge of Town

Wayne Clough           Down the Acapulco

Julie Cockburn          The Field

Paul Collinson           Temple of Ancient Virtue

Andrew Cranston      Thinking inside the box

Theo Cuff                   Untitled

Cullinan Richards      Collapse into Abstract (black)

Bernat Daviu             Overall Paintings

David  Dipré              Self Portrait on White Ground.

Nathan Eastwood     A Man after Ilya Repin’s Own Heart

Liz Elton                     Twisted

Oscar  Godfrey          Mineral 9

Vincent Hawkins       The House

Bé van der Heide      In the Desert

Rae Hicks                  Late Summer Mirage

John Holland              Home VII

Kevin Hutcheson       Study

Jarik Jongman           Waiting room (1)

Laura Keeble             "I'd like to teach the world to sing!"

Robin Kirsten             Path of Whistlers

Laura Lancaster        Untitled

Brendan Lancaster   Wet Casements

Ian Law                       M is many

Dominic Lewis          The Auction

Peter Liversidge       Proposal for the Jury of the John Moores Painting Prize 2012

Angela Lizoń              Made in Taiwan

Elizabeth Magill         Sighting                                                                      

Danny Markey           Traffic Island in the Snow

Enzo Marra                Monet

Rui Matsunaga          Monkey

Onya McCausland    Iron Hill

Dougal McKenzie     Otl's Gift (The Honeymoon of the Mechanical Bride)

Damien Meade         Talcum

Sonia  Morange         Poncho

Stephen Nicholas      Gallery

Pat O'Connor            Black

Jay Oliver                   Outside Toilet

Dan Perfect               Future Sun

Oliver  Perkins           DEAD RUBBER

Virginia Phongsathorn Comma (Test Piece for an Eye Break)

Sarah  Pickstone       Stevie Smith and the Willow

Tom Pitt                      Steps, Forest Rec.

Kevin J Pocock         Brutal Facade

Sarah  Poots              Plaza

Narbi Price                Untitled Kerbstone Painting (MJK)

James Ryan              Untitled

Andrew Seto              Fruit Loop

André Stitt                  The Little Summer of St. Michael

Trevor Sutton             Irish Painting (for Jack)

Emma Talbot             The Good Terrorists

Amikam Toren           Armchair Painting - Untitled (The Unthinkable)

Matt Welch                 Painting of IKEA shelf brackets arranged in such a way as to signify towards IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad's involvement with Nazism and Swedish Nationalism, distracted by varying levels of perspectival depth, variations in colour and visually dominated by some form of unknown dark oval in the background

Ian Whittlesea            Studio Painting - Agnes Martin                            

Thomas M Wright      Inherent Omniscience (Second Version)

www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/johnmoores

Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnmoorespaintingprize

Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnmoores2012                                                                  

Notes to editors

John Moores Painting Prize facts:

• The John Moores Painting Prize is organised in partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust
• John Moores Painting Prize is part of Liverpool Biennial, one of the UK’s largest and most exciting contemporary visual arts events. The 7th Liverpool Biennial International Festival of Contemporary Art took place on 15 September – 25 November 2012
• The John Moores Painting Prize is the UK's biggest painting prize. The first prize is £25,000, with four runner-up prizes, one of which is sponsored by David M Robinson Ltd, of £2,500. The competition is entered anonymously and open to all UK-based artists working with paint.
• Sir Peter Blake became the first John Moores Painting Prize patron in 2011
• The prize began in 1957, established by Littlewoods founder John Moores. Previous winners include David Hockney and Richard Hamilton, who went on to find fame and acclaim after winning the prize, and Peter Doig, who described winning the John Moores in 1993 as a pivotal moment in his career
• Supported by official hotel partner Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool and media partner a-n Magazine.

Notes to editors

About National Museums Liverpool

National Museums Liverpool comprises eight venues. Our collections are among the most important and varied in Europe and contain everything from Impressionist paintings and rare beetles to a lifejacket from the Titanic.                                                          

We attract more than three million visitors every year. Our venues are the International Slavery Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Sudley House, UK Border Agency National Museum, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum.                    

One of the finest art galleries in Europe the Walker Art Gallery is home to renaissance masterpieces, Tudor portraits and one of the best collections of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art in the country. An outstanding collection of contemporary art includes work by David Hockney, Lucian Freud and Banksy.

Walker Art Gallery William Brown Street, Liverpool       Admission FREE
Open 10am-5pm every day                                               Information 0151 478 4199
Website liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker

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