2024 Awards Winners
SUPREME AWARD - Sponsored by Impressions Art Supplies and Framing, Richmond, Nelson Pine and Tasman National Art Awards. Additionally the Award winner received a subscription to NZ Artist Magazine and an artist spot.
Bernadette Ballantyne from Morrinsville for “Resting Mum Face”
Comments from the judges
This work skillfully navigates medium and formal elements, such as composition and colour. It offers an unfiltered, brutally honest portrayal of the mundane that is both captivating and relatable. The truthful depiction of the sitter’s skin, pores, and fine vellus hair, combined with a tight crop, draws the viewer into an intimate moment. The subdued colour palette enhances the sitter’s weary expression, creating a profoundly compelling piece.
MERIT AWARDS x 4 - Sponsored by Golden, Liquitex, Winsor & Newton, Dale Rowney, Accessman and The Tasman National Art Awards additionally each winner received a subscription to NZ Artist Magazine and an artist spot.
Merit Award - Nicholas Hayter from Napier for “Beach Fun”
Comments from the judges
Using extensive and almost abstract negative space, the artist has used expert mark-making in a competent interplay between cool and warm tones to invite the viewer into an anonymous and yet familiar reality, where we feel compelled to join the beachgoers and become one with the artwork.
Briar Holland from Richmond for “Knot”
Comments from the judges
A beautifully presented minimalistic statement, executed with precision, that on close inspection explodes with surprising detail, conveying the emotion of a precarious situation or circumstance, in a thought-provoking contrast with the work's visual purity and balance.
Sonja Walker from Nelson for “Everything But…The Bowl”
Comments from the judges
More than just a competent rendering of three-dimensionality, this slice-of-life portrayal celebrates the mundane, sensitively handled with an off-beat composition that aligns well with the suggestion of an unknown day in an overwhelming world that lies ahead of this moment.
Audrey Anderson from Nelson for “It Was A Thursday”
Comments from the judges
A highly competent artwork, beautifully executed with stripped-back tones and suggested detail, that still manages to perfectly evoke a New Zealand bush walk experience with lifelike reality. This artwork intrigues from any viewing distance.
ART FOCUS CATEGORY AWARD - Still Life - sponsored by Olive Estate and Tasman National Art Awards
- additionally the Award winner received a subscription to NZ Artist Magazine and an artist spot.
Sarah Freiburger from Dunedin “Two Plums Together”
Comments from the judges
From a distance, the trompe l'oeil effect makes the plums almost fall from their position on the doily. Closer inspection reveals incredible attention to the fluctuating white tones of the cotton and lace, with filigree sherbet yellows and soft lavender tints. The circular format perfectly finishes the domestic table setting.
ART FOCUS MEDIUM AWARD - Mixed Media - sponsored by Emma McCashin.
- additionally the Award winner received a subscription to NZ Artist Magazine and an artist spot.
Jill Richards from Nelson “Living the High Life”
Comments from the judges
Three globes crowned with quintessential NZ villas are perched on long-legged ladders above a field. Encaustic, collage, marker pen and sgraffito build a vibrant and almost vibrating palette of colour and mark-making. The method and narrative combine to a playful yet well-balanced image the rewards a longer look.
NBS People’s Choice Award - Audrey Anderson from Nelson for “It Was A Thursday”