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2002 Archibald, Wynne, Sulman & Dobell Prize winners
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2002 WINNERS
ARCHIBALD PRIZE WINNER
Cherry Hood
Simon Tedeschi Unplugged
WYNNE PRIZE WINNER
Angus Nivison
Remembering rain
The Trustees would like to make special mention of the work by
Tim Kyle: A small crowd
The Trustees Watercolour Prize
Noel McKenna: South Coast
SULMAN PRIZE WINNER
Guan Wei
Gazing into deep space no. 9
The Judge, John Wolseley would like to make special mention of the work by
John Walker: The Drinkers
DOBELL DRAWING PRIZE WINNER
Mary Tonkin
Rocky Outcrop, Werribee Gorge 2000
2002 WINNER
THE ARCHIBALD PRIZE
CHERRY HOOD Simon Tedeschi Unplugged
Cherry Hood has won the 2002 Archibald Prize for her portrait, Simon Tedeschi Unplugged. The Archibald Prize is now in its 81st year. Cherry Hood receives a prize of $35,000.
It was a picture of acclaimed young Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi that first caught Cherry Hood�s eye. She went to one of his concerts, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and then asked him to sit for her. "Although I don�t normally do portrait/likenesses of people, I usually paint boys or adolescent males," she says. "Simon is only 20 and he has blue eyes and the look that suits the way I make images. The eyes are always the focus of my paintings. I want them to reflect the gaze of the viewer and I prefer the way paler eyes both reflect light and have a differentiation between the pupil and iris. When I met him, it turned out that he is particularly empathetic, easy going and very sensitive artistically. He saw my work and he understood what I was doing."
Hood decided to paint him topless because, she says, "he is always portrayed in formal clothes and often with a piano as well. Images of him are usually more about his playing than about him as a person let alone him as a sensual body. Also, at that time I was finishing a series of portraits of boys for my show at Mori Gallery. Simon saw these works and agreed to pose for me in the same way.
"It was quite easy to get him because he has strong characteristics. I think it does look like him, if not at his most rested. He keeps up a rigorous international performance schedule and lives between Sydney and London. He was suffering jet lag or in 'post concert letdown' when he sat for this painting. When he last saw the work he said, 'love the whiskers, remind me to stop over in Bangkok next time.'"
Hood attained a Master of Visual Art at Sydney College of the Arts in 2000. Her thesis investigated gender politics in art and cultural mores and taboos surrounding the representation of the male body. Hood has since had two solo exhibitions at Mori Gallery. Prior to this, she had countless solo and group shows at university and artist-run spaces. Her works are in many collections in Australia and overseas. Hood works in the unlikely medium of watercolour to produce her uncanny portraits, which are most frequently anonymous composites. She was a finalist in the 2001 Archibald Prize with her water colour of art lecturer Matth�s Gerber.
The Archibald Prize was established through the bequest of Jules Francois Archibald in 1921. It aims to encourage portraiture by supporting artists and celebrating the memory of great Australians. The Archibald Prize is judged by the Trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
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| On view: | Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road
Sydney NSW 2000 | | Telephone: | (02) 9225 1744 or recorded information
(02) 9225 1790
| | Hours: | 10am to 5pm 7 days a week
(closed Christmas Day & Easter Friday) | | Admission: | $8 adults / $5 students/concessions | | Media Information and Interviews: | Jan Batten
Press Office
telephone (02) 9225 1791 |
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