Bruce Slatter, Head of Curtin University’s Department of Art, has won the 2014 Bankwest Art Prize for his work entitled Expedition Recollection.
Since its establishment in 2001, the Bankwest Art Prize has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most prestigious and generous awards for Western Australian contemporary artists. The winner receives $30,000 and their artwork becomes part of the Bankwest Art Collection – one of the most significant corporate collections in WA.
This year was the first year the Bankwest Art Prize has featured three-dimensional art, and was a great opportunity for talented Western Australian sculptors to showcase their work. 86 artists submitted three-dimensional entries with only 17 shortlisted as finalists. Incredibly, nine of the finalists were Curtin graduates, with Bruce Slatter’s work being chosen as the singular winner of the Bankwest Art prize.
Slatter’s work has been exhibited in galleries both locally and internationally. His art plays with scale, with a focus on detailed miniatures and quirky juxtapositions. Slatter’s style is well showcased in Expedition Recollection, which he explains is a “sculptural visualisation of real and imagined ambitious adventures”.
“While focusing on the chaotic, disjointed and singular predicaments, I hope to celebrate the interconnected and unexpected commonalities possible in contemporary existence, ” says Slatter.
Senior WA sculptor and panel judge of the Bankwest Art Prize, Lou Lambert, described Expedition Recollection as a “sophisticated and wry cabinet of curiosities featuring miniaturised worlds of imagination and aspiration, with a quirky play on scale and astute juxtaposition of elements”.
The works of the 2014 finalists are on display at the Bankwest Art Gallery at the iconic institution’s headquarters, Bankwest Place, in the Perth CBD. The exhibition is open to the public until 6 March 2015.
