The shortlist for The Fine Art Textiles Award 2022, supported by The Open College of the Arts, has now been announced.
The international juried exhibition recognises the creative talents and skills of a broad community of high-calibre artists using textiles, cloth and thread as their primary medium, and offers a prize of £5,000 for the winning work. The award is open to amateur and practising artists (including quilters) that are producing premium gallery quality fine art. Entries must transcend their craft or making process to stand alone as visual art.
The judging panel announced 'Table Settings' by Jess Blaustein as this year's winner and 'The Three Living and the Three Dead 2021' by Tanya Bentham as the winner of the 'Innovative us of textiles' award.
Read on to read the judges’ comments about the winning and shortlisted pieces.
Jess Blaustein
Winner of The Fine Art Textiles Award
Judges Comments: “Table Settings immediately conveyed a powerful sense of the artist’s intention, as well as contributing something unique to the medium of textiles and quilting through its conceptual approach.
The simplicity of the piece speaks powerfully to the associations that exist between the world of domesticity and textiles, however Table Settings explored this relationship in thought-provoking way through the artist’s beautifully understated approach, prompting much discussion among the judges.
The panel loved the reference to the repetitive nature of domesticity, how everyday rituals can be tracked/recorded to create something that transcends the mundane. They also responded positively to the slightly marked, overlaid, patina of the work which was perceived to be a challenge to the perception of textiles as clean and beautiful. A winning work doesn’t have to be classically perfect, in exactly the same way as whoever is setting a table doesn’t have to be a domestic god or goddess.
The composition, concept and material approach of the work, alongside the artist’s sensitive rendering, captured the judges’ interest, and made this an almost unanimous choice as winner. “
Judges Comments: “Immediately there was a keen sense of the artist’s personality at play in this work. The innovative use of medieval stitch and iconography wittily applied to contemporary subjects were what made this piece deserving of the Innovative Use of Textiles Award.
The Three Living and the Three Dead 2021 is a wonderfully amusing portrait of modern life. It is simple, strong, direct and brilliantly executed, thanks to a large dash of humour hidden within the detail in this work.
The work is simple, yet visually engaging and would appeal to a wide demographic. The emphasis is centred on the relationship between the principal figures. The judges were intrigued by the story; given the reference to Opus Anglicanum (early Medieval embroidery), tempered with a graphic novel ‘Day of the Dead’ sensibility. The stitchery completely serves the image, threads model the faces, enhancing the personalities of the individual characters.
The judges believed this would extend the reach of traditional needlework and appeal to a younger audience thanks to its creative visual storytelling.”
Tanya Bentham
Winner of The most innovative use of textiles
The Fine Art Textiles Award 2022 shortlist
Nadia Ricketts
Highly Commended
Judith E Martin
Highly Commended