Wollongong Art Gallery has announced the winner of its biennial National Contemporary Watercolour Prize. Natalya Hughes’s work, “Blue Girl in the Sun,” took home the top honors and will be added to the gallery’s collection. The competition, known as FLOW, aims to encourage innovation and experimentation in watercolour painting, and this year received 144 entries from artists across Australia.
According to Wollongong Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM, the judge, Beatrice Gralton, Senior Curator of the Brett Whiteley Studio at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, noted a very high standard of work in this year’s competition. The exhibition features 82 artists whose works were selected and are currently on display in the Dickson and Fine Galleries and atrium.
In addition to the winner, three artists were also commended for their works. Leah Bullen’s “Underland No.1,” Penelope Mason’s “Pine Lake,” and Paul Miller’s “Close to the Cascades” caught the judge’s attention. Gralton praised all the artists for their efforts and highlighted the variety of themes and styles present in the exhibition.
The works on display showcase a range of subjects, including landscapes, water scenes, urban life, botanical studies, still life, and portraiture. Gralton emphasized the beauty of the natural world and the ability of watercolour to evoke the human experience of encountering nature. She also noted the persistence of art history and the contemporary context of watercolour as a medium.
The winning work, “Blue Girl in the Sun,” explores the representation of women in art history and the role of the female subject within the trajectory of modernism. Gralton described Natalya Hughes’s work as fascinating and a reminder that art is produced within a nuanced set of social conditions. The acquisition of the winning piece will be a valuable addition to the Wollongong Art Gallery’s collection and will be available for future displays.
The FLOW National Contemporary Watercolour Prize exhibition will run until March 17, 2024, giving visitors ample time to explore the diverse range of works on display. The Wollongong Art Gallery hopes that this acquisition will be enjoyed by new audiences for years to come.
For more information, please visit the original article [here](https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/news-and-alerts/news/news/september-2023/getting-into-the-flow-of-watercolour-at-wollongong-art-gallery).
