Acquisitive sculpture prize winners announced

A Highfields sculptor has taken out this year’s grand champion award in the Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery’s Acquisitive Sculpture awards.

Winners were announced at the awards night officially opened by Environmental and community services portfolio leader Cr Bill Cahill.

Michelle Kudell of Highfields was awarded grand champion with her impressive and popular work titled We are not alone nor for ourselves alone: Gaia's tree of homeorhesis that consisted of carefully folded and stacked books, hollowed out in the shape of a tree.

The judge was Polish-born Brisbane-based artist Beata Batorowicz who has elevated knitting, patchwork and sewing to the realm of high art.

Dr Batorowicz has already gained a reputation for her knitted sculptural works, fur assemblages, installations and photographs, which have been included in exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (Primavera 2000), with Contemporary Art Services Tasmania (Gulliver’s travels 2002/03), the National Gallery of Victoria (Fraught tales) and the Institute of Modern Art Brisbane (Readymade).

Runner-up was Karen Canning of Toowoomba for her wire and bead sculpture titled Cocoon, followed by Toowoomba artist Tiffany Shafran with her work with recycled and reclaimed materials called Cosmonaut 2010.

Highly commended awards went to Ravensbourne sculptor Keith Mitchell for Black Dog Star, an intriguing example of his resin spheres, and Phil Willy of Pomona for his raku-fired ceramic work of many small figures in a grandstand, called The Masses are the Message.

Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery has temporarily relocated to the Crows Nest Community and RSL Centre. The current Acquisitive Sculpture exhibition is being displayed there until Sunday, November 28. Opening hours are the same as the Gallery - Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm and Sunday 11.30am to 4pm.

Images by Jenny Gersekowski: 1. Michelle Kudell with her winning artwork.  2. L - R: Michelle Kudell, Julie Murphy, Cr Bill Cahill, Jo Petrou, Tiffany Shafran, Karen Canning, Elissa Bellert, Beata Batorowicz.