‘Whale’, 2023 © Clara Hastrup, ACS Studio Prize 2023 Winner
2023 Studio Prize judges were celebrated YBA and ACS member Mat Collishaw, the Director of Pallant House Gallery, Simon Martin and the Managing Director of ACS, Lady Bridgeman CBE.
Six finalists were chosen out of around 300 submissions to this year’s national open competition. However, after an in-depth day of judging, the 2023 Prize was awarded to Clara Hastrup!
Clara graduated from the Royal Academy Schools with a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art in 2021. Her work spans across a variety of media combining analogue and digital technologies. Hastrup assembles everyday, found objects to look for particular patterns and connections, inspired by nature’s complexity, technology and the absurdity of the human world.
On what winning the Prize would mean to her, Hastrup explained: “It will enable me not only to invest in the right studio to facilitate my practice but also give me the stability, independence and focus necessary to fully commit and continue to develop ambitious and more advanced bodies of work.”
Mat Collishaw said: “Clara Hastrup’s work shows conceptual integrity but with no limitations. Her work is coherent with sustained themes. She is a worthy winner… This artist has an interesting future.”
Simon Martin said: “Clara Hastrup stands out as an ambitious artist. Her portfolio reflects a variety of accomplished work, and each one is fresh, interesting and without repetition.”
Alongside winner Clara Hastrup, five finalists were also chosen by the judges: Irini Bachlitzanaki, Chloe Barnes, Elizabeth Dimitroff, Eva Gold and Lewis Graham.
Find out more about the finalists below:
Irini Bachlitzanaki is not only interested in the way in which different objects produce and hold meaning but how contextual changes affect the status and social significance of the objects. Bachlitzanaki graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art from the Royal Academy Schools.
Chloe Barnes, specialises in mono-printing and investigates and reflects upon themes such as identity, personal experience and emotional embodiment. Barnes graduated with an MA in Multi-Disciplinary Printing from the University of the West of England.
Elizabeth Dimitroff’s work explores the way in which multiple versions of time exist in parallel when people revisit the site of a strong, distinct memory. Dimitroff graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Fine Art.
Eva Gold’s practice uses a methodology of fragmented storytelling and spans across sculpture, installation, writing, moving image and drawing. Gold graduated from Royal Academy School with a Postgraduate Diploma.
Lewis Graham’s work plays off the ideas surrounding mapping, territory, and capturing the landscape and draws on the notion of capturing a reimagined or refined idea of a place. Graham graduated with a BA in Fine Art from the University of Worcester.