Chinese-Australian artist Guam Wei has won the 2015 Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize.
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Mr Wei’s artwork, Beach No. 5, was selected by judges over 30 other finalists.
Chief of Army, Angus Campbell, announced the winner at the exhibition launch at Bendigo Art Gallery last night.
Mr Wei was not in attendance but told the Bendigo Advertiser he felt Beach No. 5 was a perfect entry for the prize. “This painting has just finished from an exhibition at Nancy Sever Gallery in Canberra, so I asked the director to enter this painting,” he said.
Mr Wei, who is based in both Beijing and Sydney, moved to Australia from China in 1989 when he was 32.
After spending 20 years in Australia, he became a travelling artist.
“I am working and living in both China and Australia now. Every time I return to my Sydney home I feel very strong about how lucky I am to be living in Australia,” Mr Wei said.
Mr Wei has just finished a three month residence in London that included a solo show at the ACME Project Space.
He said he heard of the painting prize from the director of the Heiser Gallery in Brisbane, one of his representing galleries.
“The director, Bruce Heiser, always sends me some information about art prizes in Australia,” he said.
Mr Wei is now working on new sculptures in Beijing and will be a ceramic artist in residence in France in October.
Guy family representative Peter Guy said Guan Wei’s artwork shows some strong Chinese and Australian characteristics.
“It’s a great beach with a connection to China. The feeling was overall it really works and is very pleasing to eye,” he said.
“Chinese connection (in Bendigo) is strong, particularly with the Easter Parade and Chinese dragons. All the judges were very comfortable with this selection.”
The Bendigo Art Gallery’s Arthur Guy Memorial Prize exhibition is open to the public from today. It will be on display until November 1.