2022 marks the second year that the Barton Family Foundation Installers’ Prize has been awarded as part of The Lester Prize for Portraiture. The award is judged by members of the installation team at The Art Gallery of Western Australia. The prize winner receives the $5,000 Barton Family Foundation Installers' Prize. The Main Awards will be announced on October 30th. Be sure to follow The Lester Prize on Facebook and Instagram for live updates about the finalists. The ex
Pictured: (L-R) Altug Sener, Ako Roberts, Corrine Barton, Rosie Barton
This year, the prize has been awarded to Adrian Lazzaro for his self-portrait. We congratulate Lazzaro, and the team at Arts Projects Australia, where he creates his artwork.
Adrian Lazzaro
Self‐portrait
Artist statement: Adrian Lazzaro
"Adrian Lazzaro’s character-based practice features wrestlers, zombies, teddy bears and lovers. Heavily rendered and executed in saturated comic-strip-colour range, the works are packed with heightened emotion, cynicism and humour, often projecting a wry outlook. In Self-portrait, Lazzaro stands to attention with his hand on his heart, gazing heroically into the distance. The addition of a mask provides an ironic twist: while a less than ideal accessory for such grand posturing, one could also perceive the wearing as a heroic act.
Adrian Lazzaro is a contemporary artist working across painting, printmaking, and textiles. Having worked in the Arts Project Australia (APA) studio since 2004, Lazzaro has exhibited widely in both Australia and overseas, including 'spring 1883" at The Establishment, Sydney; "Now the heart is filled with gold as if it were a purse", curated by Glenn Barkley at Arts Project Australia, Melbourne, 2014; and "Turning the Page" at Gallery 101, Ottawa, Canada, 2014. APA is a studio and gallery that supports neurodiverse artists, promoting their work and advocating for their inclusion in contemporary art practice. Working across several disciplines, Lazzaro explores the quirkier aspects of the world around him. In 2019, Lazzaro completed a residency at the Australian Tapestry Workshop. His work is held in public collections at the City of Moreland, Wangaratta Art Gallery and the State Library of Victoria."
In conversation with the artist:
What new, interesting, or anecdotal observations did you make while working on your self-portrai?
"I was feeling good and happy when I painted this self-portrait. In it I am wearing a facemask that my mother made for me."
My process for this piece was …
"I started with a pencil drawing on canvas then fill in the colours with Posca paint-pens. The background is painted in blue acrylic paint. I had a mirror in front of me to make the work, this helps when doing self-portraits so I don’t have to do them from memory which would be tricky."
My practice is…
"Based at the Arts Project Australia studio in Northcote where I work and created this piece. As you can tell from the facemask it was painted during covid times. I like looking at people and observing them."
For more about The Lester Prize for Portraiture:
You can hear more about the Prize and the upcoming exhibition being held at the Art Gallery of Western Australia here.