Diena GeorgettiAMPERSAND2020synthetic polymer paint on canvas, custom frameGeelong GalleryGeelong contemporary art prize (winner), 2021Reproduced courtesy of the artist and The Commercial, Sydney — Diena Georgetti
*AMPERSAND* 2020
synthetic polymer paint on canvas, custom frame
Geelong Gallery
Geelong contemporary art prize (winner), 2021
Reproduced courtesy of the artist and The Commercial, Sydney

2021 Geelong contemporary art prizeinstallation view, Geelong Gallery, 2021Photographer: Andrew Curtis — *2021 Geelong contemporary art prize*
installation view, Geelong Gallery, 2021
Photographer: Andrew Curtis

GG16239_2021GeelongComtemporaryArtPrize_06

Jan NelsonBlack river running #13 2019oil on linenReproduced courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne — Jan Nelson
*Black river running #13* 2019
oil on linen
Reproduced courtesy of the artist and Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne

Norm StanleyIn a dream 2021synthetic polymer paint on canvasReproduced courtesy of the artist — Norm Stanley
*In a dream* 2021
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Reproduced courtesy of the artist

Jonathan CrowtherDivine perception 2021oil on canvasReproduced courtesy of the artist — Jonathan Crowther
*Divine perception* 2021
oil on canvas
Reproduced courtesy of the artist

Pei Pei HeSpirit of the urban space 2019oil on canvasReproduced courtesy of the artist — Pei Pei He
*Spirit of the urban space* 2019
oil on canvas
Reproduced courtesy of the artist

2021 Geelong contemporary art prize

Friday 11 June to Sunday 22 August 2021

The 2021 Geelong contemporary art prize is a signature event that showcases the diversity and excellence of Australian contemporary painting practice. In the Gallery’s 125th anniversary year, the 2021 iteration is the latest in a series of acquisitive painting prizes that have been staged since 1938. Through these prizes, the Gallery has amassed an exceptional representation of Australian paintings whilst supporting contemporary practitioners.

In 2021, 28 works by leading and emerging Australian artists have been shortlisted for the 2021 Geelong contemporary art prize. Showcasing the best of contemporary Australian painting practice, this $30,000 acquisitive award and biennial exhibition will feature works by Brett Colquhoun, Jason Cordero, Greg Creek, Jonathan Crowther, Carolyn Eskdale, Diena Georgetti, Julia Gorman, Peter Graham, Helga Groves, Pei Pei He, Linda Judge, Mark McCarthy, Laith McGregor, Jennifer Mills, Jan Murray, Jan Nelson, Rose Nolan, Stieg Persson, Rosslynd Piggott, Bundit Puangthong, Jo Reitze, Norm Stanley, Guy Stuart, Andrew Taylor, Nat Ward, Jenny Watson, Louise Weaver and Peter Westwood.

Selectors for the 2021 prize were Grazia Gunn, art historian and curator; Jenepher Duncan, art historian and curator; and Jason Smith, CEO and Director, Geelong Gallery.

Viewers are advised that one work in this exhibition contains explicit terminology that some viewers may find challenging.

COVID–19 Safety

Please remember to follow our Covid Safety measures to continue keeping our community safe. We ask that you check-in when you arrive, wear your mask when indoors, utilise the sanitisation stations and continue to physically distance.

Diena Georgetti was awarded the $30,000 Geelong contemporary art prize

Melbourne-based artist Diena Georgetti has been awarded the 2021 Geelong contemporary art prize for her painting AMPERSAND 2020.

The selection panel included eminent art historians and curators, Jenepher Duncan and Grazia Gunn and Geelong Gallery Director & CEO, Jason Smith, who were drawn to AMPERSAND for its conceptual poise and eloquent formal composition.

The painting extends Diena Georgetti’s idiosyncratic approach to picture-making as she assembles and juxtaposes abstract images and references to art historical precedents, along with modernist aesthetics, including design and fashion. These reference points are drawn from books, archives and the internet, and function as Georgetti’s eclectic image-bank, but her sources remain elusive. It is a creative process of sampling that reworks real and archival fragments in the spirit of historical collage while exploring the literal and metaphorical ways in which images are framed for the viewer.

AMPERSAND is an enigmatic and compelling work, melding formal painterly references to both analytical and synthetic Cubism, with a fugitive figuration that recalls the Classical nude pose and the enfolding pathos of Henry Moore’s sculpture and drawing. The central configuration of this painting reflects the inward twist and turn of its title AMPERSAND, that archaic sign for notating the endless possibilities of the word ‘and’ to a thought or narrative. Above all, the judges agreed that a relevant contemporary humanism pervades AMPERSAND, opening-up this precisely constructed but poetic image to many readings and interpretations.

The judges also wish to acknowledge the contemporary relevance and excellent quality of the works of the twenty-eight finalists who were selected from an Australia-wide field of over 600 entries, and who are among the country’s finest established and emerging artists.

2021 Geelong contemporary art prize

COVID–19 Safety

Diena Georgetti was awarded the $30,000 Geelong contemporary art prize

Acknowledgement of Country