Art on Paper

Seventy artists were selected for final display in the exhibition by a panel which included Anne Ryan, curator of Australian Prints from the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Paul Williams (winner of the 2009 Local Artist Prize, Hazelhurst Award). A diverse range of paper media featured in the exhibition including pencil drawings, charcoal, ink, oil, acrylic, gouache and watercolour, photography, printmaking and paper animation.

The winner of the 2011 Hazelhurst Art Award was Liam Benson for his work A Christian Country. The work, pictured above, is a digital print featuring the artist clad in body paint representing the Australian flag and wearing a tiara bearing the words ‘A Christian Country’. The work explores issues of both national and gender identity. The prize was judged by Ben Quilty, winner of the Archibald Prize 2011.

Also awarded on the night was the Friends of Hazelhurst Local Artist prize of $5,000. The 2011 winner was Nicole Kelly with her work titled Notes from Paris (Portraits), a series of twelve drawings in pencil, charcoal and pen on paper.

Nineteen of the artists displayed in the 2011 exhibition were local artists, including Belinda Allen, Lee Bethel, Joseph Bezzina, Graham Blondell, Bob Marchant and Peter Sharp. Nationally, artists selected come from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.

Image: Liam Benson, A Christian Country (detail), 2010, digital print. Courtesy Artereal Gallery.