Rachel Healy gives an overview of this year’s Zurich Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland is now showcasing the shortlisted artworks for both the Zurich Portrait Prize and the Zurich Young Portrait Prize until April 2022. The exhibition includes 24 works of art from the former and 20 from the latter and are displayed in the Portrait Gallery. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on 30 November 2021.
Neil Freshwater, CEO of the competition’s sponsor, Zurich, said that, “after such extraordinary competitions and exhibitions in 2020, Zurich are delighted to see another impressive selection of works in this year’s shortlist. The Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibitions are a highlight of the cultural calendar and we are very proud to continue to sponsor these competitions and to support Irish talent of all ages, now more than ever.”
The requirements for the Zurich Portrait Prize submissions include being over 19 years of age, a resident on the island of Ireland or an Irish citizen living abroad. Portraits of unidentifiable figures, fictional or imaginary figures were not allowed. Works in any media (including photography, video, sound, print, textiles, ceramics, sculpture etc.) were permitted. Young Portrait rules state that artists must be aged between 5 and 18 years old.
Visitors to the Portrait Prize exhibition will get a wonderful insight into the talent, creativity and motivations of those who are engaged in portraiture today.
The artwork on display has been shortlisted from hundreds of entries and chosen by three judges, including UCD’s own Róisín Kennedy, Assistant Professor of the School of Art History & Cultural Policy, Seán Kissane, Curator at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and artist, Eamonn Doyle. “The winner of the Zurich Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works.”
Sarah McAuliffe, curator of the Zurich Portrait Prize, said that “with nearly 500 entries to the Zurich Portrait Prize this year, we saw a wide range of styles, techniques and methods being employed. Each artist’s style is truly unique and I really enjoy learning about the trends in contemporary portraiture each year. I think visitors to the Portrait Prize exhibition will get a wonderful insight into the talent, creativity and motivations of those who are engaged in portraiture today.”
The Zurich Young Portrait Prize, which started in 2019, will see five winners - one from each age category and an overall winner. Winners will receive an art box and a cash prize. The judges for this section are visual artist Aideen Barry, artist Joe Caslin, and Tadhg Crowley, Senior Curator: Education + Community at the Glucksman.
This year’s selection pushes definitions of portraiture with a strong sense of experimentation with material.
“The Zurich Portrait Prizes at the National Gallery of Ireland continue to go from strength to strength.” says Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland. “Our aim is to encourage interest in and excitement about contemporary portraiture, and we’re thrilled to have Zurich partnering with us once again as we do so. A terrific selection of works has been shortlisted this year for both competitions, and we look forward to the exhibitions later this year at the Gallery and next year in Crawford Art Gallery in Cork.”
Jennie Taylor, curator of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize, stated that third level students would benefit greatly from visiting this exhibition. “This year’s selection pushes definitions of portraiture with a strong sense of experimentation with material. There is a diverse representation of identities and it captures several prominent art practices in Ireland today. A range of personal, political and historical narratives feature in these portraits. Students who visit the exhibition will find that their experience of the rest of the Gallery will be enhanced from viewing contemporary portraiture in the context of historic works.”
The free exhibition is currently on display in the Portrait Gallery of the National Gallery of Ireland. The exhibition will then travel to Cork’s Crawford Art Gallery, 23 April - 17 July 2022. Shortlisted entries below. More information can be found at www.nationalgallery.ie
Shortlisted artists for the Zurich Portrait Prize 2021:
Carey Clarke (Dublin), Portrait of David Somerville, Oil on canvas
Serena Caulfield (Wexford), Dad, 5/10/2020, Oil on wood panel
Mollie Douthit (Cork), Life in lockdown part IV: Laying on my kitchen floor with lavender eye mask to stave off a migraine, Oil on linen panel
Lizzie Downes (Dublin), Inside, Archival photographic print
Sarah Doyle (Dublin), Portrait of Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D. Higgins, Photograph
Gabhann Dunne (Dublin), I love ya boy, Oil on board
Beverley Healy (Belfast), Looking for Gold, Egg tempera on true gesso board
Vanessa Jones (Dublin), Cabbage Baby (self-portrait), Oil on linen
Dragana Juriši? (Wicklow), Daithi sleeps, Archival pigment print
Paul MacCormaic (Dublin), Portrait of Catherine Corless, Historian and Human Rights Activist, Oil and acrylic on canvas
Tom McLean (Galway), Note to Self, Oil on aluminium
Cian McLoughlin (Dublin), Lockdown Three, Oil on canvas
Jonathan Mayhew (Dublin), All I could do was sit and collect dust, Sculpture made from the artist’s hair, dust & detritus.
Poot Mendes (Dublin), Bobby + Isaac, Photograph
Nick Miller (Sligo), Portrait of Patrick Hall – painting, Oil pastel and paint on linen
Julia Mitchell (Tipperary), Knight of Kilcooley Abbey, Oil on canvas
Gráinne Moloney (Clare), Girl with Hen, Oil on canvas
Emily O’Flynn (Cork), Portrait of a Girl Through a Pandemic, Video on plasma screen
Conor O’Leary (Surbiton, England), Fiona and Woody, Evening Light., Photograph
Liz Purtill (Kerry), Paulus, Egg tempera, heavy paper mounted on wood
Emma Roche (Wexford), Shower Painting (Self-portrait), Knitted acrylic paint on wood panel
Salvatore of Lucan (Dublin), Me Ma Healing Me, Oil on canvas
Brian Teeling (Dublin), Declan Flynn in Dublin, Photograph
Riley Waite (Oregan, USA), Ian Was Here, Oil on canvas
Shortlisted artists for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize 2021:
Adam Wiercioch Chinatamunnee (Cavan, aged 5), My Father, Watercolour and ink on paper
Emilie Cowley Lane (Meath, aged 5), My Gaga, I miss you so much, Poster paint on cork board
Liam Kehily (Dublin, aged 5), Mammy, Coloured pencils and graphite pencil
Marianna Krolik (Dublin, aged 6), Mia, Watercolour and pencil on paper
Rebecca Sheahan (Dublin, aged 5), E E … Evie, Acrylic on canvas
Aliana Aherne (Dublin, aged 9), Mixed Up Me, Oil paint on paper
Rita Ruitong Chen (Wicklow, aged 8), My Mum, Watercolour and pencil on paper
Ellie Giblin (Dublin, aged 10), My Glamorous Grand-Aunt, Chalk pastels and charcoal on sugar paper
Úna and Braden McDonnell (Louth, aged 6 & 8), Úna with the dancing curls, Polystyrene base, papier mache, acrylic paint, papers, markers and plasticine
Eleanor Margey (Donegal, aged 11), Magnifying Glasses, Drawing pencils and white pen on paper
Della Cowper-Gray (Kildare, aged 14), Painting in a different world now (My Father The Artist), Pencil and pastel on paper
Cora Lee (Dublin, aged 13), Working from Home, Pencil, marker and pen on paper
Joanna Lipska (Kildare, aged 14), Chip-Chop, Colouring pencil on paper
Lijun Ma (Dublin, aged 15), Self Portrait, Paint on canvas
Ayesha Siddique (Laois, aged 14), Ayesha’s portrait, Acrylic and pencil on canvas
Niamh Brady (Cork, aged 18), Unmasked, Pencil and paint marker on paper
Mia Buckley (Cork, aged 17), Tudor, Acrylic paint on canvas
Ross McHale (Kildare, aged 16), Life’s Loop, Relentless Rebirth, Acrylic on cardboard animation
Loren McKenna (Tyrone, aged 17), Deliberation, Oil on cardboard
James Moonan (Louth, aged 16), Grandad, Pencil, acrylic, corrugated card on paper