2018 Edinburgh Realty Exhibition
Judge: Anita de Soto
First Place
Ben Mitchell, Soft, Peach, Steel
Ben Mitchell has responded to Renaissance Vanitas painting with an engaging mix of classical and contemporary objects rendered with exceptional skill. The banal ornamental animals appear to be engaged with each other across this subtle and clever tableau that depicts life and death in the reflections of the artist’s space.
Soft, Peach, Steel, By Ben Mitchell
Second Place
Phillip Beadle, Above Portobello, Otago Harbour
This painting was chosen for its luminous quality and exquisite colour palette. Its intimate scale draws on in on a birds eye view on a days end. The colours evoke warmth and peace in a beautiful dusky haze.
Above Portobello, Otago Harbour, by Phillip Beadle
Third Place
C Edmonds, I’ll Have What she is Having, Adam and Eve Reimagined
This work is a playful and humorous comment on the very serious topic of consumerism and popular culture. Its clever concept and abstractness capture the absurdity of our modern world. It is aesthetically beautiful at the same time.
I’ll Have What she is Having, Adam and Eve Reimagined , by C Edmonds
Merit Prize
Marion Vialade, The Night Before a New Year
The night scene evokes a paradox of home comfort and also an ominous foreboding. Exquisitely painted with outstanding technical skill.
The Night Before a New Year, by Marion Vialade
Merit Prize
Gemma Baldock, Thou Shalt Not
A humorous and clever depiction of human nature and society. A playful comment using cut out collage figures that play our everyday drama like dolls.
Thou Shalt Not, by Gemma Baldock
Special Mention
Lynda Ledger, Kakanui Erosion
Kakanui Erosion is the Neo landscape that comments on our environmental crisis and at the same time is beautifully rendered in fluid minimal marks.
Special Mention
Kirsten Ferguson, Untitled
An explosion of paint and colour letting paint just be paint, but evoking an energy that is playful and engaging.
Special Mention
Anton Lambaart, Willow
An exceptional figure study with echoes of Phillip Pearlstein. Understated and sensitively done.
Special Mention
Renata Duan, Absurdity and Futility
A powerful comment on our environment and oceanic crisis. It’s skilfully rendered with an appropriate colour palette for this gloomy subject while also reminding us of playful beach days.
Special Mention
Tania Bostock, Recognition
Skilfully crafted with engaging and rich texture, colour and shape. They hang like sentinels pointing to the earth.
Special Mention
Filipa Fairy, He’s all Heart
A delightful co-creation from two painters on love and light that is unique and exuberant.
Edinburgh Choice Award
Anna Filimonova