Detail from 'Childhood', acrylic by Samira Khadivizand, Winner 2022
The VAS George Hicks Foundation Contemporary Exhibition features prizes for both painting and sculpture:
Painting
Sculpture
The opening and awards presentation event for the VAS George Hicks Foundation Contemporary Exhibition is on Tuesday 7 March from 7pm.
The judge for this year's Contemporary Exhibition will be Mimmo Cozzolino.
Mimmo Cozzolino is a visual artist with a passion for combining painting, photography and digital art.
In 2003, with Arcadia del Sud (a series based on seven photographs from his adolescence), he won the overall prize in the Leica/CCP Documentary Photography Award.
In Symbols of Australia (Penguin Books,1980) a book on the history of Australian commercial iconography, he investigated the connection between trademarks and Australian national identity.
In 1977, together with the illustration co-operative All Australian Graffiti, Mimmo was co-creator of The Kevin
Pappas Tear Out Postcard Book (Penguin Books, 1977). The book prodded irreverently at Australian cultural
practices using the medium of the postcard.
A number of his artworks, photographs, designs and posters are held in the collections of State Library of Victoria, National Gallery of Australia, Powerhouse Museum, RMIT Design Archive, Art Gallery of Ballarat and private collections.
'Tower of Janis', mixed media painting on x-ray film
What is contemporary art? This can be a contentious topic, not just for us but for major galleries around the world. Currently my thinking is that on one level a contemporary painting could have a contemporary theme or message. Covid, bitcoin, social media and global warming are all contemporary issues. Another area that a work of art could be considered contemporary is that in its construction, it uses new materials or new ways of using traditional media. Spray paints, digital art and digital 3D printing are easy to recognise as contemporary mediums. Put your thinking caps on and I’m open to suggestions from you on what signifies contemporary art. Please note that there are currently no restrictions on the type of artwork that you submit to this exhibition. You will find all of the entry information below.
Richard Impey FVAS
You can bring your artwork into the building for the VAS Contemporary Exhibition on either:
Wednesday 1 March between 11am and 3pm or Thursday 2 March from 11am and before 2pm.
Members may submit up to 1 artwork and 3 sculptures.
The entry fee is $10 per artwork and can be paid at reception or by using the online entry form here.
If you have an artwork exhibited in the 2023 Summer Exhibition, you may drop off your Contemporary artwork early when you collect your summer painting on Tuesday 28 February.
You have the OPTION of entering work on our online gallery.
Click on the link to view the instructional video below showing you how to enter your art work online. Online entries must be uploaded to the online gallery by Tuesday 28 February for processing.
Please note that this is a two step process. You must first upload your artwork to your profile, and then enter it into the exhibition. Simply uploading the work does not automatically enter it into the exhibition.
Remember to bring your artwork into the galleries if you enter the work online.
Online viewing for the VAS Contemporary Exhibition will open on Wednesday 8 March with all artworks for sale.
We would like to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our building stands, their leaders, past, present and emerging.