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Griffin Art Prize shortlist reveals a female-heavy line-up of emerging contemporary artists

Words
Jenny Brewer
—
Date
10 October 2016
A long, horizontal blue painting of a tropical landscape with palm trees hangs on a white wall. To the right, a tall piece of blue fabric with orange floral patterns drapes from the ceiling to the floor.
Above

Pallas Citroen: Brick Lake

Griffin Gallery has announced the shortlist for this year’s Griffin Art Prize, awarded to emerging contemporary artists in painting and drawing. 

The female-heavy shortlist comprises five women out of six artists: Pallas Citroen, Cynthia Cruz, Olivia Kemp, Ana Milenkovic, Emma Papworth and Uesung Lee. The winner will be given a three-month residency at the gallery with the space, materials and support to develop work to launch a career in London.

Each artist has graduated with a BA or MA from a leading British art school in the last seven years. Pallas studied at Central St Martins, Cynthia at Goldsmiths, Olivia and Ana at Wimbledon College of Art, Emma at The Ruskin School and Uesung at Glasgow School of Art.

All the artists will take part in an exhibition at the gallery from 24 November – 23 December, with the winner announced on 23 November.

Last year’s winner was Zsofia Schweger, whose paintings we featured here.

A collage featuring a rainbow arching over a rocky, grey landscape. A silhouette of two faces facing each other creates a window to a blue sky and distant hills. Below, five phases of the moon are arranged in a row across a dark blue horizon.
Above

Ana Milenkovic: Griffin Art Prize

A painting of a large, purple textured shape with a glowing orange border against a black background. At its centre is a small oval containing horizontal stripes of colour. A smaller, separate canvas below shows a person’s face with a similar striped oval over their mouth.
Above

Cynthia Cruz: Wolfchild

An installation of abstract sculptures made from draped fabric and metallic materials in a white room. The pieces lean against walls or stand on fabric mats, including a tall silver cylinder held by a grey fabric base.
Above

Emma Papworth: Three Acts

A detailed pencil drawing of a wooden building nestled among bare winter trees. In the foreground, a crumbling stone wall and a fallen metal gate are overgrown with wild scrub.
Above

Olivia Kemp: Untitled

An art installation in a white-walled gallery with light wooden floors. A large charcoal drawing of a rock hangs on the back wall, flanked by a metal ladder-like sculpture and a white sculptural seat on a black stand.
Above

Uesung Lee: Productive Drawing

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Further Info

www.griffingallery.co.uk

About the Author

Jenny Brewer

—

Jenny oversees editorial output across It’s Nice That. Get in touch with writing pitches for features or opinion pieces, big creative story tips, or questions about all things editorial. jb@itsnicethat.com

To submit your work to be featured on the site, please see our Submissions Guide.

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