Melbourne-based artist Jahnne Pasco-White has been selected from an entry pool of 439 submissions and 36 finalists, as the winner of the $50,000 acquisitive Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize in 2019 for her work titled messmates 1 (2019).
messmates 1 is part of a body of work comprising 11 overlapping panels. The artist explores notions of waste, renewal and regeneration as she incorporates old clothes and other collected detritus into the work and over-paints it in bright and earthy tones. This winning painting will join the Bendigo Art Gallery’s permanent collection.
Jahnne Pasco-White, messmates 1, 2019, synthetic polymer paint, fabric dye, oil stick, crayon, pencil, paper, canvas, cotton, linen, pva, masking tape and bamboo on canvas. Courtesy the artist and Daine Singer, Melbourne
‘Pasco-White’s visceral work pushes the limits of the medium itself; it’s raw, layered and vibrant with an incredible surface texture and palette. It is emblematic of the artist’s life and current practice, reflecting the complexity of contemporary life as a female artist,’ noted the judges: Tansy Curtin, Curatorial Manager, Bendigo Art Gallery, Tracy Cooper-Lavery, Director of HOTA, Queensland and Roslyn Feeney, representing the Guy family.
‘We are thrilled to award this prize to an early career artist, and recognise that this could prove to be a pivotal moment in her practice. We can’t wait to see what she does next,’ they added.
The 2019 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize finalists are Kylie Banyard, Natasha Bieniek, Marion Borgelt, Angela Brennan, Kirsty Budge, Daniel Butterworth, Zhong Chen, Nadine Christensen, Leo Coyte, Greg Creek, Fernando do Campo, Mark Dober, Juan Ford, Helga Groves, Stephen Haley, Gregory Hodge, Kez Hughes, Jennifer Joseph, Dena Kahan, Adam Lee, Belem Lett, Richard Lewer, Dane Lovett, Jordan Marani, Karla Marchesi, Rob McHaffie, Moya Mckenna, Jahnne Pasco-White, Victoria Reichelt, Noël Skrzypczak, Michael Vale, Judith Van Heeren, Craig Waddell, Megan Walch, Amber Wallis and Darren Wardle.
Pasco-White’s winning artwork messmates1 is on view alongside the other finalists’ works in the ‘Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize’ exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery in Victoria until 8 December 2019.
Held every two years, the prize offers audiences the opportunity to see some of the most exciting, new contemporary painting from a wide cross-section of emerging and leading Australian artists. Previous winners include Stieg Persson, Dale Frank, Stephen Bush, Jan Nelson, Tim Johnson, Chris Bond, Guan Wei and Margaret Loy Pula.
‘The exhibition presents a strong representation of contemporary painting trends in Australia. Prize exhibitions such as this emphasise that artists are still seriously exploring painting as a medium. Abstraction is very strong as is tonal realism, and it is evident that artists are still referencing major movements in art,’ says Cooper-Lavery.
The Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize was initiated by Mr Allen Guy CBE (1917-2007) to honour his brother Arthur Guy (1914-1945) whose life was tragically cut short whilst in service in New Guinea.
