Talented artists from all across Australia have competed for $24,000 in prizemoney, with Sydney artist Stephanie Monteith announced the winner of the 2018 Gosford Art Prize.

Local artist Keiko Matsui took out first place in the Gosford Ceramics Prize, which saw more entries than ever before, showing the resurgence in contemporary ceramics throughout Australia.

Central Coast Council Team Leader Art Galleries, Arts and Culture, Tim Braham said there were 525 entries with 146 artworks chosen as finalists for the exhibition.

“The Gosford Art Prize has strong recognition within the arts community and by holding this prestigious annual competition here on the Coast, local artists have the opportunity to be judged and appreciated on a national stage in friendly competition with Australia’s most talented artists,” Mr Braham said.

“Approximately 53% of the finalists come from the Central Coast, which shows the depth of our local talent.

“We were impressed by the high standard and huge diversity of the artworks received. The judges commented that it was a very difficult task to select the winners because there were so many works of interest.

“We thank all the entrants for their work, creativity and dedication to Australian arts and culture, and invite the community to visit the exhibition and put their votes in for the Viewer’s Choice Award.”

The 2018 Gosford Art Prize and Ceramic Prize 2018 will be on display at Gosford Regional Gallery from 15 September - 18 November at the Gosford Regional Gallery.

For more information visit our Galleries page.

Winners of the 2018 Gosford Art Prize

First Prize $15,000

Stephanie Monteith, Dinner Time, watercolour on paper

Second Prize $5,000

Rew Hanks, East of Faskrudsfjordur, linocut

Highly Commended $1,000

Virginia Szaraz, Pagliacco, digital photography

Highly Commended $1,000

Minka Gillian, Down The Rabbit Hole, polyester monofilament, electrical cords, electrical wire, mirror, cable ties and steel stand

Commended

• Richard Morris, One Tree Hill, enamel paint on board
• Jordan Richardson, Alone in the Studio, oil on aluminium composite panel
• Kylie Douglass, If I Cast a Beautiful Net, Would I Only Catch Beautiful Things? cuttlefish bone and veiling
• Nikki Easterbrook, What-has-been2018Ed 5 + 2AP, Kodak 6x7 E6 film printed using archival pigment inks on Hahnemuhle cotton paper
• Graham Marchant, The House Curtain, oil on linen

Winners of the 2018 Gosford Ceramics Prize

Winner $2,000

Keiko Matsui, Lunar Eclipse

Commended

• Dian Hall, Home on the Range
• Lana Burgess Munro, Human Condition
• Heather-Sue Stewart, Through the Looking Glass – The Magical Micro World of Diatoms