Back in February 2008 I entered the John Moores 25th – Contemporary Painting Prize, which is a biennial event based in The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, which was set up in typical Liverpool style by Sir John Moores in concern at London’s increasing domination in the national arts scene. The most important aspect of the competition is that it is open to anyone living in the UK, this means that keen amateurs can compete and ultimately win a prize of £25,000 in a competition that has been entered by artists such as David Hockney and Peter Doig in the past.
The final image of my painting had to be submitted on the 10th March 2008 and I found out in May 2008 that I had not been successful in making the shortlist for Stage 2 of the competition, with a record 3,400 artists submitting. The exhibition of the Finalist’s will be in the Walker Art Gallery from 20th September 2008 – 4th January 2009.
The painting submitted had to be new or recent. Not having painted on canvas for quite a while I set about painting the 138 x 183 x 4cms canvas with Acrylic, Emulsion, Wax Crayon and Aerosol Spray Paint. The final submitted image of the painting changed drastically from what I had set out to paint and I could have filled 30 canvasses that size in the 8 weeks I spent painting. The painting would change so much from my original idea as I like to produce paintings using hidden layers by the build up and removal of paint. I also continued to explore and play around with my “Splodge” logo and “Dripping Paint” theme I am currently showing an unhealthy obsession within my work.
I find it really hard to explain how I arrived at the final painting, which to be honest may still change as it is very rare that I feel that a painting is finished and sometimes have a “peacock mentality” were if time permitted I could go on decorating. I started to notice by layering and removing paint for different lengths of time, that a depth was added and this is whey I added the “Little Yellow Man Pointing” as a foreground, so the dark painting behind it almost feel’s like a dark woodland scene from a nursery rhyme illustration, a set in a theatre or the peeling of an old wall.
This painting lead to a further five paintings in the series, which developed the “Yellow Man” character, “Splodge” and dark depth added by layering into a series of work based on Boxing (influenced by the Ricky Hatton fight in December 2007). These canvasses also reflect and explore iconoclastic imagery.
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July 24, 2008 at 2:18 pm
News Release
For immediate release, Thursday 24 July 2008
UK’s Largest Contemporary Painting Prize Announces Shortlist Today
The 25th John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize showcases the best of the UK’s current and future painting talent
The shortlist for the John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize – the UK’s largest contemporary painting competition with a first prize of £25,000 and total fund of over £35,000 – is announced today.
The forty shortlisted entries demonstrate that far from being ‘old-fashioned’, an artist’s decision to paint is exciting and challenging. The paintings have absorbed the legacy of conceptual art and incorporated it into the work; they are not in opposition to it. The works, selected from a record 3,222 submissions, represent the best of the UK’s current and future painting talent. Over the last 50 years, this biennial competition has given prominence to artists including 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.
Reyahn King, Director of Galleries at the Walker Art Gallery comments:
“The John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize this year provides an up to the minute report on painting today. The record number of entries demonstrates the excitement and importance of the John Moores as Britain’s pre-eminent painting prize. The judges sought to select works that most reflect contemporary practice, and the resulting selection makes clear that far from being old fashioned, an artist’s decision to paint is exciting and challenging.”
Graham Crowley, artist and juror on the John Moores 25 judging panel adds:
“There’s no art for airports or corporate foyers in this show. There is a great range in subject matter and context, and an urgency to the exhibition that I hadn’t anticipated.”
This year’s impressive selection ranges from portraiture, landscape and still lives to abstracts. The subject matter draws inspiration from the animal kingdom (Oportuno III by Georgia Hayes) to childhood experiences (The Baptism by Neil Rumming, who once witnessed a horrendous car crash and Nought Lovely but the Sky and Stars by Kit Poulson, who found what he thought was a UFO as a child). Woman Surprised by a Werewolf by Stuart Pearson Wright is inspired by the film An American Werewolf in London, whilst Cadet Congo Ganja by Tim Bailey draws from both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. The shortlist includes previous John Moores exhibitors and first time entrants.
Now in its 50th year, this year’s biennial prize has seen the highest ever number of submissions, reflecting the continued interest in painting and the John Moores’ position as Britain’s most important painting prize.
The judges for John Moores 25 are artists Jake & Dinos Chapman, art critic Sacha Craddock, and artists Graham Crowley and Paul Morrison, both former John Moores Prize winners. Almost 100 people have sat on the judging panel over the years, including Jarvis Cocker, Germaine Greer, Sir Peter Blake and Tracey Emin.
All shortlisted entries will be shown in a major exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool from 20 September 2008 to 4 January 2009. The winner of the 25th John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize will be unveiled on September 20. The first prize is £25,000 with plus four runner up prizes of £2,500.
In celebration of Liverpool’s year as Capital of Culture, this year’s popular visitors’ choice prize will be increased to £2008.
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/johnmoores
Ends
For further information please contact:
Jane Opoku or Elise Oliver, Colman Getty
Tel: 020 7631 2666 Fax: 020 7631 2699
Email: janeopoku@colmangetty.co.uk or elise@colmangetty.co.uk
Notes for Editors
John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery runs from 20 September 2008 to 4 January 2009
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.
The full list of 2008’s shortlisted artists is:
1. Georgina Amos – No Place
2. Tim Bailey – Cadet Congo Ganja
3. Richard Baines – Mickey’s Trailer
4. Christopher Barrett – Pirosmani in Tbilisi
5. David Bowe – Obst & Gemuse
6. Julian Brain – Special Relativity
7. Tom Bull – Black Flag
8. Louisa Chambers – Mechanical Coat
9. Clare Chapman – Still Life, No. 2
10. Jake Clark – Cornerways
11. Sam Dargan – Middle Management Meltdown
12. Geraint Evans – An Ornamental Hermit
13. Damien Flood – Uncharted (Island II)
14. Grant Foster – Hero Worship
15. Jaime Gili – A132 (AKIKO)
16. Gabriel Hartley – Dog
17. Georgia Hayes – Oportuno 111
18. Gerard Hemsworth – Frightened Rabbit
19. Roland Hicks – Sometimes We Sense the Doubt Together
20. Ian Homerston – Four
21. Neal Jones – Bruegel Camp
22. Stephanie Kingston – 252 Solitude
23. Richard Kirwan – As Above, So Below
24. Mie Olise Kjærgaard – Watchtower with Green Stick
25. Matthew Usmar Lauder – Untitled (Hole)
26. Geoff Diego Litherland – My Flag is Better than Yours
27. Marta Marcé – Flowing 2
28. Peter McDonald – Fontana
29. Michelle McKeown – C**t
30. Eleanor Moreton – Prince (titled)
31. Alex Gene Morrison – Black Bile
32. Kit Poulson – Nought Lovely but the Sky and Stars
33. Sista Pratesi – Black Farm II
34. Ged Quinn – There’s a House in My Ghost
35. Neil Rumming – The Baptism
36. Robert Rush – The Dream
37. Michael Stubbs – Virus Maximizer
38. Matthew Wood – S-CAT LRAB1
39. Stuart Pearson Wright – Woman Surprised by a Werewolf
40. Vicky Wright – Extraction 1
§ The John Moores was founded in 1957 by Littlewoods founder Sir John Moores (1896-1993), himself a keen painter. It is now one of the UK’s most established art prizes, with a rich and illustrious heritage. It continues to be supported in a partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust.
§ The prize has been a key component of the Liverpool Biennial since 1999, and will be a major strand in the city’s 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations.
§ Supported by A Foundation and official hotel partner, Radisson SAS Hotel, Liverpool. Visitors’ Choice Prize is supported by Rathbone Investment Management and Radisson SAS Hotel, Liverpool.
§ The exhibition is sponsored by Business2008, National Museums Liverpool’s corporate membership scheme, which provides the opportunity for businesses to gain an insight into the North-West’s leading cultural institution while giving direct support to cultural activity in Liverpool.
§ a-n magazine is the media sponsor for this year’s prize. Exposing the diversity and complexity of artists’ practice, a-n provides an inspiring critical space to research, analyse and debate contexts for practice now and in the future.
§ The fifth edition of Liverpool Biennial (20 September – 30 November 2008) will be even more impressive in scale and ambition than its predecessors. Liverpool’s cumulative experience of curating exhibitions by commissioning ambitious and challenging new artworks by leading international artists for gallery and public spaces enables it to realise exhibitions of a scale and ambition not to be found elsewhere in the UK, and has made its Biennial an example to others worldwide and a magnet to art lovers and professionals. Visit http://www.biennial.com
§ Reyahn King, Director of Art Galleries at National Museums Liverpool is available for interview via Colman Getty
§ Judges may be available for interview via Colman Getty
§ Images available on request from Colman Getty
§ National Museums Liverpool is the only group of national museums in England based entirely outside London. The group includes art galleries holding world famous collections – the Walker Art Gallery, the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Sudley House. In addition, we look after three museums – World Museum Liverpool, Merseyside Maritime Museum and the new Museum of Liverpool plus a venue that houses our conservation department, the National Conservation Centre.
Walker Art Gallery William Brown Street, Liverpool Admission FREE
Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-5pm Information 0151 478 4199