Nicholas Elias, a symbolic inscription of the imaginary, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2009. Photo Jack Bett.

Helen Lempriere Scholarships 2012

05-Jun-2012

The recipients of the prestigious Helen Lempriere Scholarships for 2012 have been announced and we are pleased to reveal that Lou Lambert (WA), Philip Spelman (ACT) and Tom de Munk-Kerkmeer (WA) are this year’s selected artists.

Perpetual, in conjunction with Sculpture by the Sea, is delighted to award the three Australian sculptors with a scholarship of $30,000 each to further their artistic development. The scholarships are awarded as part of the Helen Lempriere Bequest, a charitable trust managed by Perpetual, with the purpose of providing scholarships for the applied arts and crafts. The Bequest was designed to advance individual artists’ careers by enabling them to travel and study.

The three artists are each at varying stages of their careers, and will use their scholarship funds in very different ways to advance their development and practice.

Lou Lambert plans to use his Scholarship to purchase new studio equipment, conduct research in Australia, including exploring large-scale contemporary glass process as a potential art medium, as well as travel overseas to experience foreign landscapes and respected artists’ works in countries such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka and India.

The Scholarship will assist Philip Spelman with research into the possibilities of fabricated sheet elements derived from decorative architectural iron work. He will also use the Scholarship to visit formative sculpture galleries including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC, the Guggenheim, and MOMA in New York, together with the extensive iron collection held at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

Tom de Munk-Kerkmeer will use the Scholarship to develop his studio, including installing a small foundry to melt and pour various recycled metals, as well as to create an open exhibition space where the community of Northam, WA can experience art and participate in free workshops. Tom also plans to travel to Amsterdam to visit creative research art-labs including the W139 space for contemporary art and de service garage.

All artists who applied to exhibit at Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2012 were considered for the scholarships. The curatorial panel selecting the Helen Lempriere Scholarship recipients was made up of Tony Jones OAM, Sculptor and Principal Lecturer Sculpture at Central Institute of Technology, Perth; Clara Hali, Sculptor and Lecturer at the National Art School; Dr Alan Krell, Associate Professor, Sherman School of Art History and Art Education, COFA, UNSW; and Ron Robertson-Swann OAM, Sculptor and Head of Sculpture at the National Art School.

Clara Hali commented “Selecting recipients for awards is never easy given the vast variety of mediums, methodologies and ideas. To select three from hundreds of Australian submissions also isn’t easy. First and foremost is the artistic merit of the sculpture together with the creative background the artist. After serious consideration, together with the criteria of the award (emerging, mid-career and senior sculptors, and at least 2 different states) I believe we have got it right.”

Lou Lambert, red herring, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2012. Photo Howard Jones.

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Philip Spelman, yland ylang, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2003. Photo Jack Bett.

Tom de Munk-Kurkmeer, luchtk Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2011. Photo Viviane Dalles.

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