The success of excess at Hatched 2014
Zoe Kirkwood, a graduate of the University of South Australia, has won the $35,000 Doctor Harold Schenberg art prize announced at the opening of the national graduate exhibition Hatched.
Kirkwood's installation of vibrant paintings and sculptures, The Neo-Baroque Spectacle, seeks to transpose the visual extravagance and opulence of 17th century Baroque into a contemporary art format.
The award to the most outstanding Hatched artist was announced at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, which is hosting the annual exhibition for the 23rd year.
The judges - PICA director Amy Barrett-Lennard, Canberra Contemporary Art Space director David Broker and UWA Cultural Precinct director Ted Snell - said they were drawn to The Neo-Baroque Spectacle for its level of ambition, its innovative approach to painting and its humorous play with the history of art.
"The work was particularly distinctive and individual with a complex mix of materials and artistic approaches," their statement said.
"We can't wait to see what this artist will do next."
Striking images, unsettling video works and bold installation art epitomise Hatched 2014, the annual national graduate exhibition encompassing a wide span of cutting-edge ideas and processes.
Hatched features 34 of the most promising graduates from 22 art schools around Australia and presents a snapshot of the directions we can expect in contemporary art.
The exhibition runs until June 29.
