Gallerysmith’s Fiona Hiscock has won the 2022 Muswellbrook Art Prize for Ceramics, congratulations Fiona!
Since 1958, the Muswellbrook Art Prize has grown and evolved and is today one of the richest prizes for painting in regional Australia.
The adjudicator for this year’s prize was Sarah Gurich, Director of Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, who praised the high quality of all the works entered into the 2022 competition and spoke to the difficult task of judging the many works which captured the diverse subjects and practices of contemporary artists working throughout Australia.
Astute adjudication of the Prize since it was established in 1958 has yielded an impressive collection of modern and contemporary Australian art. These works form the foundation of the Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection.
Royal Park Refuge, 2021 will be on exhibition from 14 March to 7 May 2022 at the Muswellbrook Art Gallery, NSW.
Hiscock’s practice emerges from a long historical tradition of utilitarian ceramics which use nature for decorative inspiration. Oversized hand-built vases, pitchers and bowls provide a canvas upon which the artist depicts the life cycle of botanical specimens. During Melbourne’s lockdown, Hiscock turned her attention to native plant and avian life around Royal Park and other inner city areas near where she lives.