Wirral-based artist Leo Fitzmaurice has won this year’s £16,500 Northern Art Prize. The annual prize, founded in 2006, celebrates and rewards contemporary artists based in the North of England. Artists can work in any media and, unlike the Turner Prize, there is no age restriction. The four exhibited artists were shortlisted from a long list of over 20; with runners up Liadin Cooke, James Hugonin and Richard Rigg receiving £1,500 each in prize money. The exhibition of their work runs until February at Leeds Art Gallery.
Leo Fitzmaurice
Fitzmaurice’s playful work breathes new life into the traditional subject of landscape. With Horizon (Leeds) the artist brings together a selection of 19th and early 20th century landscape paintings chosen from Leeds Art Gallery’s permanent collection. Lined up to form a single horizon, punctuated by the ornate frames of individual paintings, this work takes us on a journey from day to night and across a variety of landscapes. The Way Things Appear, Fitzmaurice’s other exhibited work, takes the visitor on another journey – this time into a large crate-like container to view a digital slide show of 60 photographs. The images, taken on a mobile phone over the last 7 years, are amateurish, mundane and yet witty depictions of patterns in urban landscape.
Richard Rigg
This year's visitors' prize goes to Richard Rigg, who collected 44% of the popular vote. Rigg, who lives and works in Newcastle, manipulates everyday objects in his cross-disciplinary works. Two disused telegraph poles have been installed in the stairwell of the gallery, cleverly drawing the viewer’s upwards to an alternative view of the space. The chairs in Some Rest on Six Occasions are transformed into a witty conundrum (and potentially nightmare musical chair scenario) via masterly carpentry.
Liadin Cooke and James Hugonin
Huddersfield based artist Liadin Cooke uses a variety of medium and often takes inspiration from found objects (such as a Victorian embroidered sampler in Miserable Object). The use of wax gives Cooke’s work a glorious texture, most noticeably in Felicific Bar. In the same room, Northumberland artist James Hugonin’s four large paintings are each made up of over 55,000 individual marks. These exquisitely detailed and planned works deserve repeat viewing.
The Judges
This year's judges were head of the Arts Council Collection, Caroline Douglas ; broadcaster Tim Marlow; Turner Prize winner Simon Starling; Simon Wallis, director at The Hepworth Wakefield gallery; and Sarah Brown who is curator at Leeds Art Gallery.
The Significance of the Prize
The Northern Art Prize plays an important role in raising the profile of artists based in the north of England. Last year's prize winner Haroom Mirza went on to claim a 'Silver Lion' at the Venice Biennale. The Leeds based event also reminds us that many great and influencial artists come from the north of England -David Hockney, Atkinson Grimshaw, Henry Moore, Damien Hirst, Barbara Hepworth and Jack Greaves to name just some.
Visitor Information
50,000 visitors have already seen this year’s Northern Art Prize exhibition since it opened in November. There is still time to visit the show (and see if you agree with the judges) as it runs until 19 February 2012.
Location: Leeds Art Gallery, The Headrow, Leeds LS1 3AA.
Opening hours: Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday 10am-5pm; Wednesday 12pm-5pm, Sunday 1pm-5pm.
Entry is free.
Tours of the exhibition by gallery staff take place on Thursdays and Saturdays at 1pm (free with no booking required).
Jacqui Taylor - I am a part-time librarian, art student and writer. Previously I have done a wide range of jobs - from selling theatre tickets to teaching ...
