LLANDUDNO.- MOSTYN, Wales UK announced two award-winning artists of the 21st anniversary edition of the MOSTYN Open.
The artists were chosen from 34 exhibiting artists who were selected from over 750 artists who responded to an open-call attracting submissions from across the globe. The selection of artists for MOSTYN Open 21 represents the continued rise of the gallery's international profile with participants located in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Spain, USA and Australia.
A third award, the 'Audience Award' will grant a cash prize of £1,000 to the artist or collective who receive the most votes from visitors during the exhibition.
£10,000 Main Prize: Sarah Entwistle
The £10,000 MOSTYN Open 21 prize is awarded to Sarah Entwistle for her sculptural installation works 'You can make your own balance sheet' and 'Do not attempt to break the seal'.
The two works on display form part of a continuous project which centres around the artist’s deconstruction of the archive of her late grandfather and fellow architect, Clive Entwistle [1916-1976]. Two large hand-woven tapestries act as a stage for a series of gestural ceramic objects. The painterly compositions of the weavings and surface design of the ceramics borrow from graphic notations within the archive; pencil scratches, ink blots, paint strokes together with the repeated motifs of the sphere, double cone, arrow, cross, tick and question mark.
Hannah Conroy - Guest Curator of MOSTYN Open 21 said: "Sarah Entwistle's practice has many levels of complexity which make for a very generous work. Aesthetically, Sarah's work borrows from the canons of architecture, craft and design. Conceptually there is an historical underpinning, and a personal urgency to connect with a relative she has never met, which together make a practice worth celebrating."
Sarah Entwistle, on winning the award, said: "It feels profoundly validating and energising to have my work recognised and supported by the selectors and by MOSTYN. Receiving the award at this moment is a huge gift that will afford me the means, time and focus for my practice and the projects ahead."
Exhibition Award: Richard Wathen
New, for MOSTYN Open 21, the 'Exhibition Award' offers an exhibition at MOSTYN to the artist/collective that the selectors feel would most benefit at this point in their career.
The winner of the MOSTYN Open 21 'Exhibition Award' is Richard Wathen for his paintings 'Bather', 'Mantled', 'Moonbather' and 'Moonbather 3'. The four works shown at MOSTYN are part of the 'Moonbathers' series. In 2014 Wathen was struggling in the studio with a particular painting. A social conversation brought up ‘moonbathing’ of which he knew nothing. Immediately his painting had a direction, and an ongoing series of works began.
Hannah Conroy - Guest Curator of MOSTYN Open 21 said: "Richard Wathen's paintings are a wonder to experience, expressing a magical vibrancy within a formal painting tradition. Borrowing from the linguistics of portraiture they have a classical approach but deliver a dynamic and unnerving result. In selecting him for the 'Exhibition Award' we felt that there was so much more to investigate within his practice on a larger scale. We felt that his work would be positioned perfectly for MOSTYN's varied local and international audiences."
Richard Wathen said: "I am delighted to have been chosen for the MOSTYN Open 21 'Exhibition Award'. The introduction of this award, along with this year's selectors, was a huge reason for applying. I am very excited to have the opportunity to create a show in this beautiful gallery. I look forward to working with the team at MOSTYN and would like to thank the selectors for giving me this opportunity. I would also like to congratulate all the other artists included in MOSTYN Open 21, a wonderful show!"
