Naked & Nude Art Prize winner announced

Loribelle Spirovski has taken out the $30,000 acquisitive Naked & Nude Art Prize 2021 for her oil on linen work Moving House.

“My husband Simon Tedeschi is a concert pianist and I have painted him many times, not only because he is the closest person to me but because I love the lines of his body – they remind me of Michelangelo’s David, both virile and boyish,” says Spirovski of her winning work.

“In this painting, I’ve portrayed him standing, distracted by his phone as he often is, in an environment as bare as him, painted in an impressionistic style that in turn exposes the paint and brushstrokes. If he had his choice, Simon would spend most of his time at home naked.”

Spirovski’s work caught the attention of judge and accomplished artist herself Wendy Sharpe. “This painting is a disarmingly intimate and personal work, the work is more naked than nude, both painter and sitter have an intimate understanding of each other.”

The prize, held by Manning Regional Art Gallery, NSW, is the only award of its kind in Australia focussing on representations of the naked and nude human form.

While judging of the prize had to be conducted virtually by Sharpe, organisers are hopeful the exhibition will be able to open to the public before it is scheduled to close Sunday 10 October.

The 2021 finalists for the Naked & Nude Art Prize include: Tyler Arnold (Commended), Maree Azzopardi, Lili Bird, Stephen Bird, Lew Brennan, Daniel Butterworth, Richard Byrnes, Ann Cape, Amber Carbury, Ming How Chan, Lori Cicchini, Robbie Crane, Gemma Lee Cross, Cam Crossley, Dagmar Cyrulla (Highly Commended), Monika Diak, Ken Done, Graeme Drendel, Jo Ernst, Joanna Gambotto, Peter Gardiner, Stephen Glassborow, Jessica Guthrie, Patrick Heath, Sally Hook, Jules Irving, Nicole Kelly (Commended), Zai Kuang, Tatyana Kulida, Marco Lavielle, Ryan Lee, Georgie Lucock, Mark Marin, Deborah Marks, Lauren McCartney, Matilda Michell, Freyja Moon, Ingrid V. Morley, Nathan Paddison, Alice Palmer, Mica Pillemer (Commended), Rachel Pinel, Honey Long, Prue Stent, Richard Reynolds, Gwen Roberts, Bruce Rowland, Michael Simms, Peter Smeeth, Loribelle Spirovski (Winner), Nick Stathopoulos (Highly Commended), Vicki Sullivan, Alex Thorby, Seabastion Toast, Julie Vinci, Lilli Waters, Christina Waterson, Oliver Watts, Cathy Weiszmann, Vicki White, Christine Wrest-Smith.

This article was originally published 30 August 2021.

Artwork: Loribelle Spirovski, ‘Moving House’. Oil on linen, 85 x 110cm.