Basil Sellers Art Prize

5 August 2010

Art Prize Winner Announced

The prestigious $100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize has been awarded to Perth-based artists Tarryn Gill and Pilar Mata Dupont for their video artwork, “Gymnasium, 2010”.

Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne, Dr Chris McAuliffe, said the judging panel deliberated long and hard in making their decision, and commends all finalists for the depth of their engagement with the theme of sport and the quality of their art.

“Gymnasium elegantly addresses the beauty, aspiration and ambiguities of physical prowess and achievement in sport. The video work seamlessly integrates diverse components; audio, video, choreography, costume and location. Evoking the musicals of Busby Berkeley, the Ziegfield follies and the propaganda films of Leni Riefenstahl. Gymnasium reflects on both the activities of athletes and our role as spectators.

“The judges were struck by the ambition and disciplined execution of this video work. It combines humour, careful research and complex orchestration of performers. The diversity of mediums in the finalist’s art—ceramics, photography, painting, sculpture, installation and video—was a significant strength of the Exhibition. While the first and second Basil Sellers Art Prizes have both been awarded to video works, this was on the basis of the inherent qualities of the pieces, and did not indicate a preference for video works”, Dr McAuliffe said.

The Basil Sellers Art Prize provides a range of awards for artists. In addition to the $100,000 prize, the finalists are in the running for the 2011 Basil Sellers Creative Fellowship, an artist-in- residency program at the National Sports Museum, and the $5,000 Yarra Trams People’s Choice award, voted on by visitors to the Exhibition. The other 2010 finalists were: Vernon Ah Kee, Eric Bridgeman, Juan Ford, Phillip George, Ponch Hawkes, Grant Hobson, David Jolly, Richard Lewer, Noel McKenna, Glenn Morgan, David Ray, Gareth Sansom and Tony Schwensen.

The Judging Panel comprised Amy Barrett-Lennard, Director, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; Julie Ewington, Curatorial Manager, Australian Art, Queensland Art Gallery; Layne Beachley, professional surfer and seven-times world champion; Dr Michael Brand, former Director J Paul Getty Museum; Dr Chris McAuliffe, Director, the Ian Potter Museum of Art; and Basil Sellers AM.

The Exhibition runs from 6 August to 7 November 2010.

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