The biennial Paul Guest Drawing Prize highlights contemporary drawing practice in Australia. In 2024, the non-acquisitive cash award has increased to $18,000, with artist Stephen Bush selected as the winner for his pencil and watercolour work Warmgrau 1-111, 2024.
Known for creating intricate, layered paintings that blend historical references, surreal imagery, and rich symbolism, Bush’s works are characterised by lush landscapes infused with absurd or fantastical elements, exploring themes of colonialism, national identity, and the collision between the natural and the man-made. His winning work is made in this tradition – an ambiguous, dream-like seascape with an unlikely combination of elements and an unexpected use of colour.
“Whether imagined or real, landscape is a metaphor for human desires and failures. And, Warmgrau I-III is among a suite of drawings that attempt to depict the tension between landscape, isolation, and obsolescence,” the artist said.
Stephen Bush, Warmgrau I-III, 2024, colour pencil on watercolour paper, 134 x 152.5cm (framed). Courtesy the artist and Sutton Gallery, Melbourne
Judge Chris McAuliffe, Emeritus Professor, School of Art and Design at the Australian National University, said Bush’s winning entry pushed the art of drawing to an ambitious physical size. “The work answers the question ‘what does it mean to call this a drawing’ in many different ways. Thousands of marks accumulate, each of them an exercise in pressure, density, hue and tone. For all that, it’s a seductive drawing. Delicate in colour, enigmatic in mood, inviting exploration. Maybe it’s the seaside setting but I felt the same curiosity and wonder you have peering into a rock pool. There’s a cunning bait-and-switch that toys with expectations about drawing: it seems closely observed but is utterly unreal, it maps a territory that can never be found, it delivers information that just won’t add up. It reminded me of Borges’ story about a mysterious encyclopedia entry documenting a non-existent world; unrelenting in its attention to detail but adding up to something fantastic.”
The 2024 Paul Guest Prize finalists are: Zoe Amor, Kim Anderson, Justin Andrews, Justin Balmain, Martin Bell, Hugh Burry, Stephen Bush, Fiona Cabassi, Jon Cattapan, Rachel Claire, Matthew Clarke, Steve Cox, Daniel Crooks, Sarah crowEST, Rhett D’Costa, Ella Dunn, Caroline Eskdale, Anna Finlayson, Belinda Fox, Elizabeth Green, Helga Groves, Marie Hagerty, Spencer Harrison, Locust Jones, Anastasia Klose, Jennifer Mills & Darcy Luker, Pierre Mukeba, James Nguyen, Yuria Okamura, Becc Ország, Cameron Robbins, Vin Ryan, Randall Sinnamon, Georgia Spain, Jacqui Stockdale, Jacqueline Stojanović, Teo Treloar, Adele Varcoe, Gosia Wlodarczak, and Belinda Yee.
The 2024 Paul Guest Drawing Prize finalist exhibition is on view at Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria, until 27 January 2025.
