Art Almanac congratulates West Australian artist Lori Pensini, winner of this year’s $50,000 KILGOUR PRIZE, with her intimate reflection on inter-racial relationships and her own family lineage.
The winning work, Family (2021), depicts family portraits painted on heirloom fine bone china plates, which Pensini said were a ‘tribute to the inter-racial relationships of my colonial fore-bearers and the First Peoples of the southwest of Western Australia.’
‘These portraits are a continuum for myself and my art practice exploring the Indigenous lineage to my ancestry,’ she said.
‘Each plate is unique to itself, honouring individual endeavours and fortitude. Collectively they embody the sense of ‘family’, of intimate bonds forged and the endurance of fervent relationships that defied racial vilification of the times.’

Lori Pensini, Family, 2021
This year the KILGOUR PRIZE was judged by Lauretta Morton, Director, Newcastle Art Gallery; Adam Porter, Head of Curatorial, Campbelltown Arts Centre; and David Trout, Visual Artist, Head Teacher Fine Art, Newcastle Art School. The trio was impressed by the weight and substance of Lori’s technically strong and innovative work, which explores the Australian identity to make a strong point in a beautiful and subdued way.
‘There is a tension presented through this work – the portraits are haunting but also mesmerising,’ commented Morton.
‘It is not a divisive narrative, but one that embraces the individual stories behind this family portrait.’
While Newcastle Art Gallery remains closed during lockdown, the Kilgour Prize 2021 exhibition showcasing the 30 finalists can be viewed online.
The KILGOUR PRIZE 2021 finalists are Lisa Adams, Gillian Adamson, Matteo Bernasconi, Jackson Booth, Catherine Boreham, Julie-Ann Brown, Simon Brown, Daniel Butterworth, Emily Jayne Carroll, John Dahlsen, Archer Davies, Rachelle Dusting, John Earle, David Fairbairn, Nick Fintan, Christine Fontana, Miriam Fraser, Michael Lindeman, Nunzio Miano, Robert O’Connor, Nathan Paddison, Lori Pensini, Alice Pulvers, James R Randall, Zeljka Reljan-Music, Grace Kemarre Robinya, Paul Ryan, Jason Tolmie, Mick Turner and Mark Tweedie.
Cast your votes for the $5,000 People’s Choice Award online before 5pm on Thursday 6 October 2021. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 11 October 2021.