Tasmanian-based artist Zoe Grey has been announced as the winner of the esteemed 2024 Hadley’s Art Prize for her work The Shape of Rock. One of Australia’s most lucrative art awards worth $100,000, the annual acquisitive art prize is awarded to the most outstanding portrayal of the Australian landscape.

The 28-year-old second-time Hadley’s Art Prize finalist’s work was selected out of 35 finalists by an expert judging panel comprising the Senior Curator, First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Australia Tina Baum; Senior Curator, Exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia Jane Devery; and celebrated British-Australian artist and Associate Head of Art at the University of Tasmania, Dr Neil Haddon.

Zoe Grey works in the field of painting, as well as drawing, collage and ceramics, her practice exploring notions of home, connection to place and the experience of landscape. Her winning work The Shape of Rock depicts the rugged landscape of Marrawah, a remote coastal community on the northwest edge of Tasmania where the artist grew up.

Grey was also chosen as this year’s $1,000 Packing Room Prize Winner, selected last week by the team of volunteers who assist with unpacking the artwork.

2024 Hadley’s Art Prize winner Zoe Grey said: “Winning this prize is a huge honour, a surprise and a great privilege. I’m interested in exploring personal relationships to place, and how we engage with the environment around us. This painting, The Shape of Rock is inspired by my evolving relationship with the landscape of my home, Marrawah.” 

The 2024 judging panel said: “Grey’s The Shape of Rock is a very confident work which draws you in with its rich colours and varied mark-making. There is much to discover as you move around the work and different elements reveal themselves. It’s oceanic and energetic. The composition is well resolved, and the work offers an immersion in the landscape which parallels the artist’s experience of her hometown, Marrawah, a small coastal town in the northwest coast of lutruwita/Tasmania. 

We were impressed with the diverse field of high-calibre finalists from different career stages. The strong field demonstrated inventive approaches to landscape, showcasing both traditional and unorthodox techniques in different mediums. All finalists presented compelling responses to the landscape. 

There were many strong works which were creative, as well as conceptually and technically well resolved, making the decision difficult. However, we were all united in our decision.” 

Amy Jackett, Curator of Hadley’s Art Prize said: “This year’s exhibition features many works about deep time, with artists sensing and appreciating ancient landscapes. Notably, there are more early-career, young finalists than ever before, offering them an incredible opportunity to be showcased alongside some of Australia’s leading and most established landscape artists. Other prevalent themes in this year’s exhibition included colonialism, environmental concerns, and celebrations of country. The exhibition is stunning, and it was a privilege to work with the judges.”

FULL LIST OF HADLEY’S PRIZE 2024 FINALISTS

Raymond Arnold
Leon Russell Black
Katherine Boland
Harrison Bowe
Jane Burton
Robert Fielding
Zaachariaha Fielding
Fiona Francois
Zoe Grey
Rosie Hastie
Naomi Hobson
Nicola Hooper
Charles Inkamala
Amanda Johnson
Kieren Karritpul
David Keeling
Iluwanti Ken
Elizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray
Tony Lloyd
Andrew Mezei
Milan Milojevic
Helen Mueller
Hubert Pareroultja
Laura Patterson
Martin Rek
Troy Ruffels
Julia Sirianni
Stephanie Tabram
Conrad Tipungwuti
Rhoda Tjitayi
Meg Walch
Joe Whyte
Philip Wolfhagen
Belinda Yee
Frank Young