Tasmanian-based artist Zoe Grey has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Hadley’s Art Prize for her work The Shape of Rock. One of Australia’s most lucrative art awards worth $100,000, the annual acquisitive art prize is awarded to the most outstanding portrayal of the Australian landscape.
The 28-year-old second-time Hadley’s Art Prize finalists work was selected out of 35 finalists by an expert judging panel comprising the Senior Curator, First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Australia Tina Baum; Senior Curator, Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Jane Devery; and celebrated British-Australian artist and Associate Head of Art at the University of Tasmania, Dr Neil Haddon.
Zoe Grey works in the field of painting, as well as drawing, collage and ceramics, her practice exploring notions of home, connection to place and the experience of landscape. Her winning work The Shape of Rock depicts the rugged landscape of Marrawah, a remote coastal community on the northwest edge of Tasmania where the artist grew up.
Grey was also chosen as this year’s $1,000 Packing Room Prize Winner, selected last week by the team of volunteers who assist with unpacking the artwork.
2024 Hadley’s Art Prize winner Zoe Grey said:
Winning this prize is a huge honour, a surprise and a great privilege. I’m interested in exploring personal relationships to place, and how we engage with the environment around us. This painting, The Shape of Rock is inspired by my evolving relationship with the landscape of my home, Marrawah.
The 2024 judging panel said:
Grey’s The Shape of Rock is a very confident work which draws you in with its rich colours and varied mark-making. There is much to discover as you move around the work and different elements reveal themselves. It’s oceanic and energetic. The composition is well resolved, and the work offers an immersion in the landscape which parallels the artist’s experience of her hometown, Marrawah, a small coastal town in the northwest coast of lutruwita/Tasmania.
We were impressed with the diverse field of high-calibre finalists from different career stages. The strong field demonstrated inventive approaches to landscape, showcasing both traditional and unorthodox techniques in different mediums. All finalists presented compelling responses to the landscape.
There were many strong works which were creative, as well as conceptually and technically well resolved, making the decision difficult. However, we were all united in our decision.
Amy Jackett, Curator of Hadley’s Art Prize said:
This year’s exhibition features many works about deep time, with artists sensing and appreciating ancient landscapes. Notably, there are more early-career, young finalists than ever before, offering them an incredible opportunity to be showcased alongside some of Australia’s leading and most established landscape artists. Other prevalent themes in this year’s exhibition included colonialism, environmental concerns, and celebrations of country. The exhibition is stunning, and it was a privilege to work with the judges.
The Finalists Exhibition is now open at Hadley’s Orient Hotel, Hobart from 3rd August – 25th August 2024.
A public program of events and talks will run alongside the exhibition, including The Geek Awards on 11 August 2024 with science communicator Dr Karl and mathematician, author and comedian Adam Spencer. More information on the public program here.
ABOUT HADLEY’S ART PRIZE
Established by Hadley’s Orient Hotel, Hobart in 2017, the Hadley’s Art Prize is one of Australia’s most lucrative art awards offering $100,000 to the winning entry. Presented by Hadley’s Orient Hotel, the annual acquisitive award seeks to contribute to the Tasmanian and Australian art scene, generating interest in cultural tourism and promoting the work of contemporary landscape artists. The award aims to be inclusive, encouraging entries from early career artists and indigenous artists. The award is judged on the artist’s creativity, statement/story, and technical skill. The Hadley’s Art Prize celebrates landscape art, reconnecting with the art displayed at Hadley’s Orient Hotel over a century ago. Judged by a different panel of art experts every year, the prize is open to Australian artists, over the age of 18, working in two dimensional mediums. The works of finalists are exhibited in customised gallery spaces at Hadley’s Orient Hotel in August. The winning entry is added to a growing permanent collection at the hotel that is publicly accessible. As well as the Major Prize, there is also a Residency Prize valued at $10,000, a Packing Room Prize valued at $1000, a $2500 People’s Choice Award, as well as $1500 worth of prizes for school students.
