The 2025 Wollongong Art Prize $25,000 acquisitive top prize winner is South Australia-based ceramic artist Sam Gold with Lungs swollen with warmth from the mouths of exploding stars, 2025 – a large-scale, hand-built stoneware sculpture exploring care, fluidity, and resilient storytelling.
Sam Gold, Lungs swollen with warmth from the mouths of exploding stars, 2025, hand-built stoneware with enamel, 150 × 190 × 18cm
Courtesy the artist and Wollongong Art Gallery, New South Wales
Finished with enamel, the work uses coiling and layering to resist fixed edges, asserting presence and carrying collective stories. Multi-disciplinary artist Nicole Smede received the $5,000 non-acquisitive Local Artist Award.
The works of 220 prize finalists are featured at Wollongong Art Gallery until 1 March 2026.
