Threadneedle Prize 2012 - the Award Winners

Threadneedle Prize Winner 2012
Ben Greener - "My Feet"

Last night I was at the Mall Galleries for the Awards Dinner for the 5th Annual Threadneedle Prize 2012. There are two main prizes - the Annual Threadneedle Prize (£30,000) and the Visitor's Choice Award (£10,000) and I guessed right and predicted one of them!  The Prize was this year won by a man for the very first time.

I managed to get myself and my camera there, unfortunately the battery decided to stay at home in the charger.  However I did help to choreograph a great photograph of the winner if I say so myself!

The tale of this prize is about two sculptors, two men named Ben and two men who took themselves at the starting point and the subject matter for their entry to this competition. Many thanks to Liberty for the photos of the chaps who won prizes.

First the winners and then the commentary.

Threadneedle Prize

Threadneedle Prize Winner 2012
My Feet by Ben Greener 
Wood, Canvas, Glue, Tea & Coffee, 10x24x34,
£1500

The winner of the Threadneedle Prize 2012 is Ben Greener.  It's an incredibly innovative piece.

People's Choice Award Winner

This is the one I predicted correctly - Robert Truscott won the People's Choice Award with Defeat.

Defeat by Robert Truscott
Mixed Media, Plaster, Epoxy Putty, Material on Armature, 367x167x49cm,
£30,000

The sculpture is of soldiers after the Battle of Stalingrad leaving the city as prisoners of war en route to the Soviet gulag.  This battle was one of the bloodiest of the second world war and two million people died.  There a major story about the aftermath as well of the battle itself.  Here's what  Wikipedia had to say on the subject

Out of the nearly 110,000 German prisoners captured in Stalingrad, only about 6,000 ever returned. Already weakened by disease, starvation and lack of medical care during the encirclement, they were sent on death marches (75,000 survivors died within 3 months of capture) to prisoner camps and later to labour camps all over the Soviet Union. Some 35,000 were eventually sent on transports, of which 17,000 did not survive. Most died of wounds, disease (particularly typhus), cold, overwork, mistreatment, and malnutrition.

Robert Truscott and some of the figures in Defeat

On accepting the prize Robert said he would use the money to get the sculpture cast in bronze.  Robert talks about the materials and processes he uses in  blog post - Construction and Materials

Islington Backgardens in Winter Sunlight 

by Melissa Scott Miller

Two runners-up won £500 each.  These were:

• Dreaming 2 by David Firmstone (one of the shortlisted artists see Threadneedle Prize 2012 - Shortlisted Artists)
• Islington Backgardens in Winter Sunlight by Melissa Scott Miller

Commentary

Ben Greener is an excellent example of an artist who is very focused and makes things happen - besides creating sculptures.  Ben has known he's an artist from a very early age and has spent much of his life making art.  He started a degree course and then, having started, realised he needed to just get on and make art.

He decided a while back that the Threadneedle Prize was the sort of prize which could provide him with the capital to allow him to get a practice going in a studio.  His original intention had been to provide a complete sculpture of his body - inside out.  Which is how he came to construct his skull and spine and hands.  However there were problems getting the whole structure to hang together and hence he decided to submit just his feet to the Threadneedle.

The judges apparently were of one mind as soon as they saw his work and knew that it was exceptional - this I heard from one of the judges telling Ben last night!

Ben Hendy and his life size
Self Portrait
linocut (sold)

Then, as soon I posted my selected artists posts, Ben was emailing me with photos of his work to go on the blog post.

Keep an eye on his website http://www.bengreener.com/ which is cuurrently under construction.  When finished it's bound to have interesting and innovative work from somebody who is definitely 'going places'.

The other Ben and another life size self-portrait

I was also very pleased to meet up with Ben Hendy last night and managed to persuade him to stand in front of his artwork - a linocut of his naked body - so you can get the sense of scale.

Ben was shortlisted for the Threadneedle Prize and last night won a prize of £1,000.

Ben told me that he'd handburnished the whole linocut - which for me makes it all the more remarkable.

What is most astonishing is that we have two young men - both called Ben and at the beginning of their career as an artist - who both chose to use themselves as their subject matter for their competition submission.

Both did something truly innovative - and both were duly recognised and became rather better off as a result.

Note: John Deston is to be congratulated for organising the best dinner I've ever had at an Events/Awards "Do".  It was absolutely delicious.

More about the Threadneedle Prize

For more about the Threadneedle Prize 2012 - and the Prize in earlier years - see my earlier posts (and images) below

2012 Threadneedle Prize

• Call for Entries for £30000 Threadneedle Prize 2012 03 Mar 2012
• Threadneedle Prize 2012: Analysis of entries / selected artists 14 Jun 2012
• Threadneedle Prize 2012: names of selected artists 21 Aug 2012 - this includes links to the websites of selected artists
• Threadneedle Prize 2012 - Exhibition now Online
• Threadneedle Prize 2012 - Shortlisted Artists
• Review: Threadneedle Prize Exhibition 2012
• Threadneedle Prize 2012: The Making a Mark Select Six

2011 Threadneedle Prize 

• Threadneedle Prize 2011 - a new selection process 26 Apr 2011
• Shortlist for Threadneedle Prize 2011 dominated ...08 Sep 2011
• Threadneedle Prize: The Making a Mark Select ...26 Sep 2011
• Review: Threadneedle Prize Exhibition 2011 22 Sep 2011
• Henriette Simson wins Threadneedle Prize 2011 06 Oct 2011

Other information about art competitions in the UK: Art Competitions in the UK - this includes links to earlier years of the Threadneedle Prize

Exhibition

• Threadneedle Prize | Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD Tel: 44 (0) 20 7930 6844 threadneedleprize@mallgalleries.com
• Directions to Mall Galleries
• Mall Galleries | The Mall, London SW1 | Tel: 020 7930 6844 |info@mallgalleries.com