October 27th, 2023Landscape Prize

In a fruitful relationship, the Maldon Artists Network (MANet) has partnered with EDGE Galleries in Maldon to present the 2023 Maldon Landscape Prize for painting, drawing, and mixed media.
The generous prize of $10,000 is sponsored by the HMR Foundation and will be
judged by highly respected landscape painter, Mary Tonkin.
Mary Tonkin works en plein air, a process documented for the first time by the
National Gallery of Victoria for its web series inspired by the exhibition She-Oak
and Sunlight: Australian Impressionism, 2021. The stereotypical notion of the smock-
wearing artist perched imperiously on a hilltop, or ponderously surveying a vista, is
anathema to Tonkin’s robust practice.
The Maldon Landscape Prize encourages artists to personally interpret the
landscape. The theme ‘Essence of Place’ invites artists to bring their skills: everything
they know, observe, and apprehend, to create work for consideration that may be
formal, technically balanced, out of order, maverick, wildly inventive, traditionally
understood, arresting, composed, sublime, joyous, anguished, abstract or a combination of those.
The work has to conform to certain requirements including: being no more than
80cm wide, and available for sale. From the 177 entries, three judges have pre-selected
41 works to be judged by Mary Tonkin. All judges are working totally ‘blind,’ which
means they do not know the names of the artists. Thus, the works are judged purely
on the piece in question, not the artist’s reputation. Imagination, technique, and
composition are some of the criteria on which the judges base their decisions. Works
are not necessarily realistic. They could be quite abstract. There have been entries by
many Goldfields artists, as well as further afield, including Sydney and Queensland.
The $10,000 prize is provided by the HMR Foundation which is based in
Italy. The Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati has a passion for the service of art,
creativity and social inclusion. It is a platform created to support contemporary
figurative arts, to protect young talents, and to contribute to the evolution of
creativity. The People’s Choice Award is worth $1000. Works will be available to view
online from November 19 to February 14, after the opening in October.
EDGE Galleries’ opening hours for the Maldon Landscape Prize are 11am – 3pm,
Wednesday – Sunday, from October 29 until November 11. EDGE Galleries is at
35-37 Main Street, Maldon. Link: www.maldonartistsnetwork.org.au