Gosford Art Prize 2024 – KAB Gallery Artist Finalists

Every year the Gosford Art Prize is clearly marked on my calendar as a landmark event. As always artists from my KAB Gallery stable have been announced as finalists, and this year I’m overjoyed to announce the following artists are finalists:

Cathryn McEwen, Bev McGarn, Kels Watkins

The Gosford Art Prize 2024 stands as the premier art competition on the Central Coast, attracting both local and national talent to showcase their art. Held at the beautiful Gosford Art Gallery, this event is a highlight of our local region’s cultural calendar, drawing attention from artists and art lovers alike. The exhibition of finalists offers a fantastic display of artworks selected from an overwhelming 900 entries this year. The judges, Peter Godwin from NAS and the Bouddi Foundation for the Arts and art finance specialist Libby Knot, worked the difficult task of narrowing the exclusive exhibition down to 136 Finalist artworks. This process makes the anticipation for the winners all the more thrilling.

Competing for over $25,000 worth of  prizes, artists from across the nation have submitted their best works in various categories. The awards include a substantial First Prize of $15,000, a Second Prize of $5,000, and a special Aboriginal Artist Prize of $2,500. Additionally, the Gosford Ceramics Prize of $2,000, two Highly Commended awards of $1,000 each, and a Viewer’s Choice Award, which includes a $500 gift voucher, add to the excitement. The competition covers a diverse range of mediums, including 2-dimensional artworks like painting, drawing, printing, and mixed media, as well as photography, digital media, sculpture, and ceramics.

As the excitement builds towards the announcement of the winners next week, the team at KAB Gallery are incredibly proud of the artists we represent who have been selected as finalists. The Gosford Art Prize not only celebrates artistic excellence but also underscores the vibrant art scene here on the Central Coast. The competition is a testament to the broad scope of art talent within our community and the broader Australian art network.

Being part of the Central Coast’s art community, KAB Gallery is deeply invested in events like the Gosford Art Prize. Our Terrigal location, a favourite among art lovers, continues to support and promote the incredible talents of local Central Coast artists. We are confident that this year’s competition will be another fantastic showcase of the region’s best art pieces, and we’re eagerly awaiting the results. We believe that one of our very own KAB Gallery artists could be among the winners! Our wonderful gallerist, Kels Watkins, is a finalist. This is her second time as a finalist in this national prize and her artwork is very impressive. 

Congratulations to our 2024 Gosford Art Prize FINALISTS
 

Cathryn McEwen is a Gosford Art Prize Finalist 2024 with her work titled “Into the Woods”.

This work features a closely cropped composition of a glass bottle. This series of works by McEwen illustrates her investigation into the beauty of colour, shape and textural effects distorted in older glass – looking on and through uneven surfaces to reveal enigmatic hints of our past. 

Artist Statement supplied by Cathryn McEwen to accompany her entry

Not to be taken for granted, simple everyday objects hold even more wonder in how readily they conjure up either our own memories or stories of another time and place. Processes now lost to machinery are captured in the imperfect surfaces of these beautiful glass bottles, and it is easy to get completely lost in the complex distortions and reflections of shapes and colours they create in the light. 

 Cathryn McEwen is a repeat Finalist in the Gosford Art Prize. Her unmissable piece last year was a diptych titled “Daylight Savings”. 

Bev McGarn is a 2024 Gosford Art Prize Finalist with her ceramic wall hanging.

Bev McGarn is an accomplished Australian ceramicist, passionately engages in her artistic endeavors driven purely by her love for creation. Working within her sun-kissed studio on the vibrant east coast of NSW, she dedicates herself to the daily pursuit of her ceramic art. Through relentless exploration, Bev fearlessly experiments with diverse types of clay and firing techniques, and has successfully formulated her own distinctive array of homemade glazes. She works over long periods with each work and really enjoys the process. 

Artist statement supplied by Bev McGarn to accompany her ceramic entry

I have spent years inhaling the extraordinary beauty of the landscape in which I live.

I am driven by an intense fascination with the unpredictable alchemy of mud and fire.

I experiment with local clay otherwise destined for landfill.

This clay is combined with rocks and minerals in the form of glaze and fired to a temperature that restores it to a rock like material.

Knowing the local origin of the materials used brings me into a deeply satisfying sense of collaboration with the earth.

Sandbar, with her diverse colours and textures, ensues from this grand love affair.

Kels Watkins is a 2024 Gosford Art Prize Finalist with her impressive painting “The Glass is Always Greener”.

Myself and the KAB Gallery team are especially proud of fellow Gallerist, Kels Watkins. When she isn’t offering specialist art collecting guidance in the gallery she can be found in her studio painting. She is committed to her easel and we are all so excited to see her career in the arts progress. This is her second time as a Gosford Art Prize Finalist.

Artist statement submitted by Kels Watkins to accompany her art prize entry

‘The aspirations of the Australian middle-class have shifted with the rapid development of technology. Instead of valuing a simple domestic life, and cultivating a strong sense of community, some have found another inlet for hope. Turning to the screens and the media for comfort, and seeing illusions of perfection, often rooted in a desire for ‘green’.

The irony of this approach is it’s a distraction. The happier future is obscured by the newest, shiniest, most unattainable thing. Sabotaging the deep gratitude and appreciation previously nurtured by years of resilience and resourcefulness.’

For art enthusiasts and collectors, the Gosford Art Prize offers an unparalleled opportunity to experience the best of Australian art in a beautiful Central Coast setting. Visit the Gosford Art Gallery to witness this year’s finalists and celebrate the rich artistic heritage of our region. And of course, we invite you to explore the diverse collection at KAB Gallery, where we continue to bring the finest works to the Central Coast and beyond. 

We look forward to seeing who the winner is for 2024. Announced at the evening party, 23.8.24

CLICK HERE  for a full list of Gosford Art Prize Finalists for 2024

About the author

Kerry-Anne Blanket

Director & Curator - KAB Gallery

KAB Gallery’s Kerry-Anne Blanket holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts and two Masters degrees (Hons) from the University of Sydney. With an extensive career in art education along with the management of museums and investment art galleries, Kerry-Anne can offer premier art consulting to her clients and source specially requested works. 

She has a keen eye for detail, comprehensive art market knowledge and a love of all things beautiful. Kerry-Anne works directly with artists and collectors alike to curate interesting and eclectic exhibitions.