Archies announce A&D finalists

Today the Art Gallery of NSW announced the finalists for a number of its prestigious annual prizes such as the Archibald Prize for Portraiture, Wynne and Sulman Prizes. UNSW Art & Design alumni, staff and current students are among the impressive list of artists featured in what is always an eagerly anticipated series of exhibitions.

The Archibald Prize, first awarded in 1921, is presented to the best portrait painting; it features a who’s who of Australian culture – from politicians to celebrities, sporting heroes to artists.

UNSW A&D alumni who have been selected as finalists for the 2015 Archibald Prize include Tony Costa, Filippa Buttita, Tony Curran, Tim Gregory, Nigel Milsom, and Shaun Gladwell who was recently featured in a survey exhibiiton at UNSW Galleries.

Jason Phu is a finalist in both the Archibald and Sulman Prizes.

The Sulman Prize is presented to the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project in oil, acrylic, watercolour or mixed media. Along with Jason Phu, Art & Design graduates who are in the running for the 2015 Sulman include Jasper Knight, Noel McKenna, Stephen Ormandy and Master of Fine Arts student and 2014 Archibald winner Fiona Lowry.

Finally, the Wynne Prize is awarded to the best landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figurative sculpture. Wynne finalists in 2015 include Viola Dominello, Celia Morgan, Louis Pratt, Aida Tomescu and Karl de Waal. 

Each year, the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW judge the Archibald and Wynne, and invite an artist to judge the Sulman. This year’s judge is Lindy Lee.

Visit the exhibition from 18 July - 27 September to vote for your favourite portrait in the People’s Choice award, and see the work of budding artists aged 5-18 on display in the Young Archies.

Explore the complete list of Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize finalists.

To read more about Jason Phu's work go to UNSW Newsroom.