At Retrospect we're very excited to announce that three of our artists have been selected as finalists in the Portia Geach Memorial Award. A Big Congratulations to Michelle Dawson, Jessica Geron and Maryanne Wick. It’s Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize for female artists and has greatly contributed to the development of female artists in this country. It was established by Florence Kate Geach in 1961 in memory of her sister, Portia Geach and is awarded each year to the best portrait painted from life of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters or the Sciences.
To find out more about the Portia Geach Memorial Award click here...
Maryanne Wick's painting, Self Portrait (Reflection of a Night Painter)
Maryanne Wick draws attention to the incidental but often poignant moments we miss in our hectic day to day lives. Through painting, drawing and creating visual diaries, her subject matter focuses primarily on still life and figurative composition to convey - a sense of place - in quiet, unassuming ways. She has been described by art critic John McDonald (Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 2008) as - an emerging painter with a subtle, distinctive touch.
See Maryanne Wick's profile here...
Michelle Dawson had an unheard of two entries selected as finalists in the prize her works are titled Sparrow Man and The Visitation shown below.
Born in New Zealand, Michelle moved to Australia in 1985. She has been working as a professional artist since 1996 and has studied both in Australia and the UK at the UCL Slade Art School. Michelle has been shortlisted for several major art prizes including the Bendigo drawing Prize and the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. She has twice represented Australia at the Intercontinental Biennale of Small Graphics in Romania and was shortlisted for the CBCA 2009 Crichton Award for Best New Illustrator.
See Michelle Dawson's artist profile here...
This is Jessica Geron's painting, Our Time
Jessica Geron graduated from the College of Fine Arts Sydney (MFA) and is currently working out of Brisbane. She has had numerous solo shows in the last decade as well as exhibiting extensively in NSW, QLD and VIC. Her works draw heavily upon iconography and grabbed moments of pop culture. She is a compulsive hoarder of imagery, cut outs, obscure film and discarded postcards. Her bold and colourful canvases are a buzzing reflection of this obsessive compulsion.
See her artist profile here...
