Judges Lady Bridgeman CBE, founder of the Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS), Tim Marlow, Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Arts, and painter and sculptor Maggi Hambing CBE deliberated over a longlist of 13 artists from throughout the UK and the EEA.

The judges awarded the £6,000 prize to sculptor Marco Miehling. A London-based artist born in Germany, Miehling graduated with a Masters degree in Sculpture from the prestigious Royal College of Art in 2017. His practice involves developing site-specific installations and large-scale sculptures.

On receiving the Prize, Miehling explained “The economic challenges faced by early career artists have never been so demanding. Paradoxically, as one of the most important human activities, artistic work is becoming more and more precarious. As a multidisciplinary sculptor, winning the ACS Studio Prize [will] grant me valuable time and space to continue questioning my artistic practice.”

Judge Maggi Hambling said of the winner: “We were impressed by the range and quality of the work. Particularly impressed by the multidisciplinary inventiveness of Marco Miehling”.

Alongside Miehling the highly commended finalists included Anna Biesuz of Wimbledon College of Art, Jack Latham of the University of South Wales, Newport, and Rhona Jack of the University of Dundee.

Speaking of the finalists, Lady Bridgeman said: “I was particularly absorbed by the work of shortlisted photographer Jack Latham and his depiction of stark Scandinavian landscapes. Anna Biesuz and her illustrative explorations of the female form feel very contemporary, while Rhona Jack looks to the industrial past in her construction of a loom to create textile based artwork. My fellow judges Tim Marlow and Maggi Hambling were impressed by the large scale sculptural installations of Marco Miehling and by the overall standard of the work submitted.”