Art award winners celebrated in major exhibition

The Wallace Art Awards turn 25 this year; former winner Sam Mitchell says judging the work is a privilege. NZ Herald photo:Doug Sherring

The country's longest surviving and largest annual art awards mark a major milestone this year.

It's 25 years since Sir James Wallace launched the Wallace Art Awards to recognise and encourage our visual artists. Now all Paramount Award-winning work has been brought together in a major retrospective exhibition at the Pah Homestead.

Surveying the 25 Years of Winners: The Wallace Art Awards Paramount Winners 1992-2016, Sir James says it provides a snapshot of how contemporary art has developed in New Zealand during the last quarter century.

It includes paintings - the most common medium in the awards' early years - sculptures, light installations, photography and video. Many of the winning artists were starting out when they entered but have gone on to become some of our best known - Bill Hammond, Fatu Feu'u, Jenny Dolezel and Peter Stichbury among them.

But one thing that hasn't changed during those years is Sir James' belief that more New Zealanders with the financial means to do so should back the arts. He has long feared younger people are not giving money to the arts and that lack of philanthropic spirit could hinder the growth and development of the sector.

"If you look on the back of a programme to see the names of those who are donating money, the same names reappear and we're all getting older."

Sir James, who began collecting art by emerging artists in the 1960s, says giving to the arts is a positive way to contribute to community that brings tremendous satisfaction to all involved. His art collection, which numbers around 8500 works, is now managed by the Wallace Art Trust which has more than 1500 works on free loan to public institutions like schools and hospitals.

"The collection makes me very happy, especially that we can loan so many of the works."

While Sir James is constantly looking for new work to add to the collection, he gets no say in who wins the Wallace Art Awards. Alongside the Paramount Award, the judges grant four main awards of international residencies and two runner-up cash prizes. The total prize pool is now more than $275,000.

He believes international residencies, with the chance to live and work aboard, are invaluable because they re-energise artists and expose them to new methods, mediums and people. Sam Mitchell is one artist who can testify to their value.

"Experience is what an overseas artists' residency gives you," says Mitchell. "Things you might not do or see if you stay safely in your own community bubble; exposure to new ideas, people, environments, art works, travel. They require you - in some cases, force you - to challenge your own abilities as an artist and push your own artist practice."

She says winning such an award meant exposure to a wider audience and gave her a feeling of responsibility to keep making art.

Mitchell knows about life on the other side of the awards having helped judge them in 2012 and 2016. She describes it as an intensive burst of work where one has to guard against "visual overload" because of the sheer amount of work entered.

What makes a winning artwork?

Acknowledging it's subjective, Mitchell says you can't help bring your own tastes to it but it's about looking closely and the conversation you can have with an artwork.

"Looking at art is a bit like the current Instagram fad of 'food porn' and the current quest for the ultimate cheeseburger. You're attracted by something that looks good; you want substance - a juicy succulent glistening meat pattie - and a good artesian burger bun a balance in composition, canary yellow cheese dripping with a sneak peek of pickle to create colour and form - the well put together burger - and something that speaks to you. Art should invoke a response."

Lowdown
Surveying the 25 Years of Winners: The Wallace Art Awards Paramount Winners 1992-2016 closes on Sunday, September 3 with the Wallace Art Awards 2017 winners announced on Monday, September 4.