The open art competition received over 750 entries, with two rounds of judging needed to whittle the artworks down to the final 125 which are on show until 23 October.
The grand prize of £2000, sponsored by The Harley Foundation, was jointly awarded to Verity Pulford for her glass piece Untitled and Millie Welburn-Cowell for her painting Juna.
The exhibition features a wide range of artworks with an impressive variety of subjects, techniques and materials. While many of the exhibiting artists are professionals, many are self-taught and there’s even a massive collage of the Queen made by local nursery age children (unbeknown to the judges!).
Lisa Gee, Director of The Harley Gallery and Foundation, said “Deciding what works to choose as the final selection for an Open Exhibition is a difficult business. At the start of the day you think that you’ll never make a selection and yet somehow it appears. You stop worrying about judging apples and pears and look for pieces of work that make you smile, that have a distinctive voice, a personal feel, or amazing technical ability.
These pieces were all made within the last two years and within 100 miles of the gallery. The exhibition is a portrait of our region, our communities and inevitably, our experience of lockdown.
The winning works were selected for their technical ability and artistic flair. Verity has used a tremendously difficult and ancient glass making method, Pate de Verre, to create her sculptural wall work while Millie has created a sophisticated contemporary portrait which really grabbed our attention.”
The Gallery’s curators were joined by artist Jason Wilsher-Mills as guest judge. Jason is a digital artist who you might recognise from Sky Arts ‘Landmark’ series. His work is currently on show at the Commonwealth Games and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and his exhibition ‘Jason and his Argonauts’ will be at The Harley Gallery in November.
Visitors are invited to have a go at judging, too, by helping to choose the winner of The People’s Prize. You can vote for your favourite exhibit to win this £750 prize, sponsored by The Welbeck Estates Company, by visiting the gallery or heading to the website www.harleygallery.co.uk/exhibition/harley-open-22.
The Harley Open 2022 is on show until the 23 Oct at The Harley Gallery, Nottinghamshire. The exhibition is free to enter and there is free on-site parking. The gallery is open Tuesday – Sunday (closed Mondays).
For details visit: www.harleygallery.co.uk
