Dubliner Vera Klute has won the Hennessey Portrait Prize 2015 for her oil on canvas portrait, Anne Ryder.
She beat eleven shortlisted artists whose work ranged from the use of acrylic on shellac records to a video installation to claim the €15,000 prize. As part of the prize, Klute will also receive a commission worth €5,000 to produce a portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection.
Speaking about her winning portrait, Klute said: "I had previously done a sculpture of several heads, which was loosely based on my friend’s family. In the sculpture the face of my friend’s mother Anne really stood out from the group on account of her intense gaze and beautiful but very distinct features.
"As I am probably more proficient with paint I really wanted to have another look at her face and explore it as a painting. While this is obviously a portrait, what interests me most about depicting people is the texture of the skin with wrinkles, veins and tonal variations. Imperfections and signs of ageing show the fragility of the body and its mortality, which for me makes the portrait of an individual universally relevant."
Sarah Ryder by Vera Klute
Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, artist Colin Davidson, said: “Our congratulations to Vera Klute for her winning portrait of Anne Ryder. There was such a diverse body of entries in this competition and it was extremely hard to narrow it down to a shortlist of 12. I would like to thank my fellow judges on the panel and all the artists who entered the competition. It is encouraging to see so many artists engaging in, through their own fresh and dynamic approaches, this most ancient of genres."
Living and working in Dublin, Klute has exhibited widely both in Ireland and abroad. This year, she was awarded the Hennessy Craig Scholarship at the RHA Annual Exhibition and received several Arts Council Bursary Awards, the K+M Evans Award (RHA Annual) and the Emerging Visual Artist Award (Wexford Arts Centre). Some of her recent solo exhibitions include the LAB and the RHA (Dublin), QSS Gallery (Belfast), the Butler Gallery (Kilkenny) and Wexford Arts Centre. Vera is currently working towards a solo exhibition in the Molesworth Gallery in 2016.
An exhibition of the 12 shortlisted entries is on display at the National Gallery of Ireland until Sunday, 14th February 2016. Admission is free.
Hennessy Portrait Prize Finalists
Winner: Vera Klute from Co. Dublin; Anne Ryder – oil on canvas
Catherine Barron from Co. Kilkenny; Self Portrayal – acrylic ink on shellac records
Gerry Blake from Co. Wicklow; Carmel (from “The Grey and the Green”) – photograph on fine art paper
Simon Burch from Co. Dublin; Ruby Walsh – photograph on photographic paper
Aidan Crotty from Co. Sligo; Self-portrait with a Flyer – oil on canvas
Eoin Heaney from Co. Dublin; Last Words – video on digital screen
Mark Heng from Co. Limerick; Self-portrait with Hat and Apron - acrylic on board
Stephen Johnston from Lisburn; The Artist – oil on canvas
Miseon Lee from Co. Dublin; A Portrait of my Son – oil on canvas
Janet Mullarney from Co. Dublin; A Triptych Self-portrait: Research; Picasso’s daughter; Pink fighter – papier-maché, wire and tin; wood and ink; plaster and wire
Mandy O’Neill from Co. Dublin; Jody from the series ‘Promise’ – archival photographic print
Helen O’Sullivan-Tyrrell from Belgium; Ferdia - oil on canvas
