THE JOHN RUSKIN PRIZE 2012
WINNER ANNOUNCED
The Campaign for Drawing, in close collaboration with the Guild of St George,
launched a new annual art award. The John Ruskin Prize.
In 2012, an invitation went out to artists of 18+ living
across the UK ‘to take a new look at nature’. The aim was to find artists
who take a fresh approach to the natural world, and whose work encourages the
viewer to share their sense of discovery.
The jury agreed a shortlist of sixteen artists.Their work
was exhibited at Brantwood, Ruskin’s former Lake District home
from 8 September to 14 October. The winner, Carol Wyss received £1000 and a
pencil case made by local craftsman, Wade Muggleton using oak from Ruskin’s Forest in Bewdley.
Her work also formed part of the major winter 2012 exhibition,
Force of Nature: Picturing Ruskin’s Landscape, at Sheffield’s Millennium
Gallery. This ran from 15 December 2012 to 16 June 2013. Both the prize and
the Sheffield triennial exhibition based on the Ruskin Collection were
sponsored by the Guild of St George.
The Judges felt that Wyss' work more than met the brief to take a new look at nature as
her huge etchings strikingly emphasise the cycle of growth and decay,
reflecting concerns for the future of our environment.
Top image from left to right:
Carol Wyss, Butterfly Bush (flowers made up of human bones), etching, 116cm x 80cm
Carol Wyss, Greater Knapweed (flowers made up of human bones), etching, 116cm x 80cm
Shortlisted artists:
Adrian Pritchard
Bettina Reiber
Brian D Hodgson
Brian Lewis
Christine Reynolds
David Walker Barker
Deborah Feiler
Duncan Ball
Elizabeth Atherton
Kate Westbrook
Norihiro Usui
Rachel Labovitch
Rebecca Jewell
Roy Wright
Yi Lin Juliana Ong