Telling their story: inaugural art prize salutes the City of Brisbane
The Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Art Prize celebrates our artists and the urban and natural wonders of the city they love.
It’s interesting how differently people see things. A case in point – the finalists in the inaugural Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Art Prize. The Royal Queensland Art Society, Brisbane Branch, is now hosting this unique art prize celebrating the Brisbane region, its residents and visitors.
With a prize pool of $30,000, the art prize will support and celebrate the vibrant artistic community across Queensland as well as shine a light on the Olympic City.
As for the finalists, well, some see poetic views, some more prosaic. But even in the prosaic there is beauty. Just ask James Randall, whose gouache We Never Close (pictured, below) features a gritty urban scene.
“Brisbane has some wonderful architecture – it’s a beautiful city on the river,” Randall says. “But it also has interesting nooks and crannies that wouldn’t attract your average punter, but which I regard as gems.
“This garage, on my walk to Royal Queensland Art Society, always makes me stop. I love the old empty drum colours, the shadow composition and, of course, the sign in the distance. The composition was there. It just felt perfect and more Brisbane than most locations in the city. Brisbane is on a trajectory towards being super-sophisticated and stylish but it still has some rough corners and these give it real character. I’d hate to see them disappear.”
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They won’t as long as artists like Randall keep painting them.
Another finalist, John Swadling, also explores an inner-city vista. Isaac St. Spring Hill – A Brisbane Echo captures the unique character of this suburb where Charles Blackman once lived.
“This corner is quintessentially Brisbane,” Swadling says of his painting, which shows where Isaac Street and Water Street meet. “Modest, sun-drenched and perched on the edge of change. It’s where old workers cottages sit alongside gentrified homes and where stories of migration, growth and social evolution are told in timber and tin.”
Then you have Johnny Huang’s Jacaranda UQ Riverside Lawns (pictured, below), which is a tad more idyllic.
“Brisbane is a city with pure air and bright sunshine especially in the Spring when the Jacarandas are in full bloom,” he says. “The purple, green, blue, white and colourful plants make me love this city irresistibly. Every year when the jacarandas are in full bloom, my favourite place to enjoy the scenery is the Jacaranda Riverside Lawn at UQ.
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“It is a special place where the blue sky is filled with white clouds, the winding paths, the colourful tree trunks, the purple petals blooming all over the trees, and the blooms that fall randomly when the wind blows the flowers down gently to kiss the green grass.”
Anne Wood’s acrylic painting Mary’s Garden (St Stephen’s Chapel) is the result of consistent walks by the Cathedral of St Stephen’s precinct in the CBD. The inspiration of both the cathedral with its majestic presence and the humbler chapel, is such a beautiful contrast to the otherwise high-towering blocks throughout the city. The title, Mary’s Garden, is a way of dedicating the work to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, since this chapel is dedicated to her.
All the works in this exhibition depict special places and aspects of Brisbane from the urban to the more natural, since Brisbane is a city with its own natural wonders. The works are all for sale, which means you can own a little piece of Brisbane if you don’t already.
RQAS president Brent O’Neill says the Queen’s Wharf Art Prize has been in development for almost a year.
“We are excited to announce this new creative new partnership with The Star Brisbane, aimed at promoting and supporting artists throughout Queensland,” he says.
“As advocates for artists in the state since 1887, we believe there is no better way to express our connections with Brisbane and its surrounds than through the creative arts. The Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Art Prize will provide a significant opportunity and prize for the arts community, further promoting the value of creativity and art within our community.”
The Star Brisbane CEO Daniel Finch says the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane Art Prize would further foster culture and creativity both across the state and locally within Greater Brisbane.
“The Star is delighted to partner with the Royal Queensland Art Society, Brisbane Branch, to launch this significant art prize,” Mr Finch says. “We are proud to provide a new platform for emerging and indeed established local artists to showcase and be recognised for their creative endeavours.”
Artists were invited to submit artworks that tell their story of what makes Brisbane and its surrounding attractions so special, capturing the essence of the region, its beauty, culture and distinctive character.
Submissions will be judged by a panel of art experts – Dr Kay Kane, artist Jun Chen and former gallerist and art expert Bruce Heiser. The finalists exhibition will be on show at Petrie Terrace Gallery, home of the RQAS Brisbane Branch, throughout September.
Winners will be announced at a gala awards night at The Star Brisbane on October 1, with winning artworks and a shortlisted selection of works on display at Queen’s Wharf for the public to enjoy and purchase.