2014 UWS Sculpture Awards winners announced

Greer Taylor's sculpture reprieve

reprieve 

Winner of the 2014 UWS Sculpture Award: Greer Taylor for her sculpture reprieve

"In a forest a tree might fall, but sometimes, if it is not too heavy for its neighbour, or falls slowly enough, it is caught and is able to live on, saved from destruction by its position in the forest. Sometimes this reprieve will enable the tree to regain a strong connection to the earth allowing it to live on, even if its support crumbles. 

"This dynamic creates new spaces within a forest, often resulting in the most sculptural of trees. It is though, a dynamic that is only really ‘allowed’ to happen in a wild forest… "

Greer Taylor, artist


Biography

Greer Taylor has worked in many fields of the visual arts: fashion, textile art, graphic design, all providing resource for her current fine art practice.

Her work uses simple geometry, transparency and repeated elements to explore space, vulnerability and change.

Taylor shows in annual solo exhibitions while regularly contributing to group exhibitions. She is actively involved in promoting the arts in the Illawarra as a founding member of Illawarra Association for the Visual Arts.

She is deeply passionate about the natural environment. 

Previous exhibitions and awards

Selected group and solo exhibitions

2014 Sculpture 2014, Brenda May Gallery, Waterloo, NSW

2013 ‘zero&one’, solo exhibition, [MARS] Gallery, Port Melbourne, VIC

2013 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, NSW    

2013 Sculpture at Scenic World, Katoomba, NSW

2013 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

2012 Sculpture at Scenic World, Katoomba, NSW

2012 University of Western Sydney Sculpture Prize, Cambelltown, NSW

2012 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, NSW

2011 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

2011 Swell Sculpture Festival, Currumbin, QLD

2011 Lorne Sculpture, Lorne, VIC 

2011 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, NSW 

2010 ‘Local:Current’, group survey, Wollongong City Gallery, NSW

2010 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

2010 Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition and Awards, Yarra Valley, VIC

Awards

2012 Sculpture at Scenic World Acquisitive Prize, Katoomba, NSW

Commissions

2014 Melton Waves Leisure Centre Public Art Project, ‘Rain Stories’, Melton City Council, Melton, VIC

Represented in collections in: 

Orange Regional Gallery, NSW

Darwin Museum of Arts and Sciences, NT

Hamton Homes, VIC


Michael Purdy's sculpture Oneness 

Oneness 

Winner of the UrbanGrowth Acquisitive Sculpture Award: Michael Purdy for his sculpture Oneness 

"This sculpture is one of series of works in which I am attempting to create non-religious sacred objects. Based in the principles of Hatha yoga where opposites paradoxically combine to create a oneness, the balancing of positive and negative space in the design aims at achieving a soothing simplicity, despite the busy complexity of its individual elements. Originally conceived while camping in Murramarang National Park, its conception is testament to the saying…'relaxed is who we are… Stressed is who we think we should be'"

Michael Purdy, artist


Biography

Michael Purdy studied landscape architecture at UNSW and learnt to work with stone while creating sandstone based landscapes around Sydney. Though he has lived on the South Coast of NSW for ten years, his works are best known by regular visitors to Bondi’s Sculpture by the Sea where he has exhibited seven times, winning four awards including People’s Choice in 2005. Commissions include Frazer Motorcyles at Strathfield, Argyle Hotel at The Rocks and the Sydney Seafood School at the Sydney fish markets.  

Previous exhibitions and awards

Group and solo exhibitions 

2014 Sculpture at Sawmillers

2014 Sculpture on the Edge, Bermagui

2013 Maunsell Wickes at Barry Stern, Gallery, Sydney 

2013 Sculpture on the Edge, Bermagui

2012 SXS Bondi, Sydney

2012 Sculpture on the Edge, Bermagui

2012 Maunsell Wickes at Barry Stern, Gallery, Sydney

2011 Arts in the Valley, Kangaroo Valley

2011 SXS Bondi, Sydney

2011 Maunsell Wickes at Barry Stern, Gallery, Sydney

2010 SXS Bondi, Sydney

2010 SXS Cottesloe, WA

2010 Maunsell Wickes at Barry Stern, Gallery, Sydney

Commissions

2010 Surfrider Foundation Commemorative Bowl

2009 Sydney Seafood School

2008 Fraser’s Motorcycles, Concord, Sydney

2008 ‘Steel’ restaurant, Wynyard, Sydney

2008 Students’ memorial, Dapto High School, Illawarra

2007 ‘The Argyle’ nightclub, The Rocks, Sydney

1998 ‘River of Life’ Oncology Ward,  Liverpool Hospital, Sydney 

Awards

2013 Sculpture on the Edge, Emerging Artists

2013 Shoalhaven Contemporary Art Prize, Highly Commended

2011 Arts in the Valley, Highly Commended

2010 SXS Bondi, Inaugural Sculpture Inside Curator’s Prize

2009 SXS Bondi, Andrea Stretton Memorial Invitation to Cottesloe Award

2005 SXS Bondi, People’s Choice Award

2004 SXS Bondi, Unrepresented Artist Award


Morgan Shimeld's sculpture Converge

Converge

Winner of the Janice Reid Emerging Artist Award: Morgan Shimeld for his sculpture Converge

"The work of Sydney based sculptor, Morgan Shimeld is primarily concerned with the aesthetic and theoretical concepts of the interaction of internal and external spaces. Shimeld’s work is characterised by attention to structure and form, with strong and grounded monolithic shapes, using perspective and precisely angled planes. These geometric elements act to draw the viewer into the work and opposing sides will often have quite a different sense of balance and perspective."

Morgan Shimeld, artist


Previous exhibitions and awards

Group exhibitions

2014 Sculpture at Scenic World 2014, NSW, Finalist 

2013 Sculptue 2013, MiCK Gallery, Sydney

2013 Mt Buller Sculpture Award, Victoria, Finalist

2013 Montalto Sculpture Prize 2013, Victoria, Finalist

2013 Sculpture at Scenic World 2013, NSW, Finalist

2012 Heat, Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney

2012 Au Courant, Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney

2012 Sculpture in the vineyards 2012, NSW, Finalist

2012 6 inch show, Defiance Gallery, Sydney, Finalist

2011 Sculpture 11, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

2011 Group show, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney

2011 Self Portraits, China Heights Gallery, Sydney

2011 Willoughby Sculpture Prize 2011, Sydney

2010 Sculpture 10, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

2010 UWS Acquisitive Sculpture Award and Exhibition 2010, UWS, Sydney

2010 Finding Form Creating Space/ Disrupting Space, UWS, Sydney

2010 Sawmillers Reserve Sculpture Prize, Sawmillers Reserve

2010 Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Melbourne

Solo exhibitions

2011 Converge, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

2008 Tracing Constructs, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

2007 Architectural Evolution, Brenda May Gallery, Sydney.

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