An "extraordinary meditation on the body, knowledge and transformation" has taken out the inaugural MAC yapang Art Prize.
Sydney artist Nick Collerson's Theoria was one of several winners announced at the Museum of Art and Culture, yapang, on Friday night in what is already the richest acquisitive art prize in regional NSW.
The $40,000 prize pool included $30,000 awarded to Collerson's oil on canvas, a $5000 'yapang Award' for First Nation's artist James Tylor's Tapa-arra Through the Landscape 11 & 14, and a $5000 'Lake Mac Award' for locally based artist Adele Merdjanic's Lakeside Tinny.
Collerson said he was "pleasantly surprised and very flattered" to learn of his win.
"The strength of art is that it doesn't tell people what to think – it's a chance to reflect," he said.
"It leaves space for the interpretation of the viewer and in my art I'm really aware of that."
Collerson's work will now become part of MAC yapang's permanent collection – a growing catalogue of contemporary art valued at more than $3 million.
MAC yapang Art Prize judge and Wollongong Art Gallery Director Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham said Theoria "exemplifies painting as philosophy – radiant and restless, deliciously absurd and deeply alive".
"Nick Collerson's Theoria is an extraordinary meditation on the body, knowledge and transformation," he said.
"Its painterly intelligence and mythic resonance reward slow looking, inviting viewers to lose themselves in its alchemical play of form and thought."
The winning work was selected from a diverse field of entries submitted by artists across Australia, working in all mediums.
"We're thrilled to see such a strong response to the first year of the MAC yapang Art Prize," MAC yapang Art Producer Jasmine Kean said.
"The calibre of entries was exceptional, and the winning work is a powerful addition to our collection. It reflects the creativity and depth of contemporary Australian art."
"This prize is about more than acquisition – it's about celebrating artistic excellence and supporting artists from all backgrounds and disciplines."
Works from competition finalists will be on display at MAC yapang until 7 December.
The MAC yapang Art Prize is proudly supported by Lake Macquarie City Council.
