NEWS

Byron Arts Magazine has announced the finalists and semi-finalists for the BAM Art Prize.The second biennial prize saw an especially high calibre of entries from all over Australia. With the Finalist Exhibition opening at NRCG in Ballina later this month, both the semi-finalist and finalist artworks are now on display on the BAM website.

Included in the incredible lineup of artists is Colleen DaRosa, Hilary Herrmann, Konstantina, Kathryn Dolby and Kylie Caldwell.

The Finalist Exhibition showcase opens on the 21st of October at NRCG in Ballina and the Awards Ceremony will be streamed online on Thursday, 29th October at 6pm, on the BAM website.

Kathryn Dolby received a finalist position for her work Fire Retardant Over Landscape (pictured above). The colours in the landscape shift with extreme weather. In this painting the vibrant orange and pink fire retardant spills over the hillsides, popping like the sun lighting up a cloud.

Colleen DaRosa received a semi-finalist position for her work Light Pools (Eclat). Capturing and transforming light into coloured pools, Light Pools (Eclat) offers an opportunity to experience ‘slow light’ by observing the nuances of light reflections and refractions within the work.

Hilary Herrmann received a semi-finalist position for her work A Place of Encounter. In strange an uncertain times, imagination and the ephemeral are maybe a safe place to hide.

Kate Constantine received a finalist position for her work Negative Space. Negative Space is a further exploration into my Aboriginal identity, consisting in or characterised by the absence rather than the presence of the distinguishing features making me who I am as a fair-skinned Aboriginal artist and mother.

Kylie Caldwell received a finalist position for her These Birds Have Been Through A Lot. The three woven birds were made during a time of rainfall deficiencies affecting the east coast of Australia, unprecedented national bushfire season and a global pandemic causing people across the world to isolate at home.

Images (detail)

Kathryn Dolby ‘Fire Retardant Over Landscape’ (2020) Acrylic on board, 123x83cm.

Colleen DaRosa ‘Light Pools (Eclat)’ (2019), paper, card, encaustic, synthetic polymer paint, plexiglas, oiled oak, 58cm x 58cm x 7cm.

Hilary Herrmann ‘A Place of Encounter’ (2020) Oil on canvas, 1.2m x 1m.

Kate Constantine ‘Negative Space’ (2020) Polymer & Acrylic Paint on Canvas, 120 x 90

Kylie Caldwell ‘These Birds Have Been Through A Lot’ (2020) Coloured raffia, Plywood, Paint, Ties, 119 x 119cm