Joshua Raz, Indoor/Outdoor Tropics, 2016 Oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, 160 x 140 cm
The HIX Award was set up in 2013 by restauranteur Mark Hix and Rebecca Lidert, the director of CNB Gallery, and is designed to give aspiring artists a platform to showcase their work in their first step toward life beyond university.
This year, the Award received a record number of entries of the highest calibre yet, which were then whittled down to just 21 finalists. Raz, 22, who graduated from Newcastle University this year, won a £1,000 cash prize, which will be used to finance a studio.
Mark Hix with the winner of the prize, Joshua Raz
The award, which was presented to Raz by Mark Hix at a special event at the Unit London Gallery on Monday night, also includes a £1,000 voucher for art materials from CASS Art Supplies; £1,000 HIX dining vouchers; a trip to HIX Townhouse in Lyme Regis and a feature in the autumn issue of HIX magazine. The Runner Up prize went to Hun Kyu Kim (aka Jake the Dog), and the People’s Choice winner is Karen Doyle.
The 30-strong judging panel was chaired this year by the acclaimed British artist Gavin Turk, who says: ‘The winner by a whisker from very strong competition is a large ambitious work that simultaneously blends various painting styles and in a collage-like way mixes historic quotes and modern domestic representation. Congratulations and best of luck to all the young artists in the show.’
The exhibition of shortlisted artists will run at Unit London gallery, 147 Wardour Street, London W1F 8WD until 9th September.
