Check Out The Artists Who Won The Rise Art Prize 2018

Wondering who won the Rise Art Prize this year? Read all about it here, and see the art that caught the judges’ attention…

Last year we revealed the top 10 artists to watch ahead of the Rise Art Prize which took place in London last week, exclusively chosen for us by Head Curator of Rise Art, Rebecca Gordon – read the full article here and make your guesses before reading on.

Curated online art gallery Rise Art launched the inaugural Rise Art Prize in October 2017, to ‘unearth the most exciting contemporary artists from around the world and provide a platform for artists to gain industry recognition and boost their career’. Thirty of the most influential and respected people in the art industry went on the hunt for the winner, searching for creative excellence, original ideas and technical skill above all else. Judges included award-winning Young British Artist Gavin Turk, David Bailey OBE, twice Turner prize nominated Richard Wilson and Sarah Martin from the Turner Contemporary.

“I know how difficult it can be to make a career in the art world – it’s a highly competitive industry, with constant cuts to arts funding. The Rise Art Prize is a much-needed platform for raising the profile of artists and art within the media.” – Gavin Turk

The contest was not contained to just one region – artists from the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia were all eligible for the prize. So, after all these months of searching, who won the much-coveted, career-changing prize?

It was announced at the awards ceremony last week, held at the uber-cool House of Vans and sponsored by Patrón Tequila, that Lebohang Kganye from Johannesburg beat 16,000 artists from around the world to win the Global Art Prize, while Gina Soden was the winner of The Patrón Tequila UK Artist of the Year. Find out more about the winners below…

READ MORE: The Best Exhibitions in London Right Now

The Winners

Lebohang Kganye

The winner of the 2018 Rise Art’s Global Artist of the Year award is Lebohang Kganye, an artist from Johannesburg, South Africa, who will receive a £10,000 cash prize as well as business and financial mentorship from industry experts, a short biopic, and exhibition opportunities with Rise Art. Her winning piece was a complex exploration of family history depicted through silhouette-style photography, described as “a poetic manipulation” by the judges.

Gina Soden

The artist from Reading was chosen by the expert panel as the winner of the Patrón Tequila UK Artist of the Year, thanks to her photographic depiction of an abandoned asylum entitle ‘Klinik’. Gina specialises in guerrilla-style photography which takes her to some of Europe’s most intriguing abandoned locations. Judges described her as “an exquisite observer of beautiful decay”, while Gina commented that she was particularly happy as ‘Klinik’ holds a very special place in her heart and has many memories associated to its creation.

READ MORE: The Biggest Exhibitions of 2018 To Book Now

Tom Waugh

The British sculptor won both the People’s Choice Award, presented by Oliver Proudlock and voted for entirely by the public, and the Sculpture Award. Other categories included Street Art, Painting, Drawing, Young Artists and Screen Printing. See here for the full list of winners.

See For Yourself!

All finalists and winners currently feature in a public exhibition on display at House of Vans until the 25th February 2018, and their work is available for sale through Rise Art. You’ll also be able to see site-specific installations as part of the exhibition, including street artist Marc Craig’s live mural and Ant Hamlyn’s inflatable orb that expands when Tweeted.

House of Vans London is located close to Waterloo station, at 228-232 Station Approach Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8SW

riseartprize.com  

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