Finalists named in No.8 wire competition

Jill Godwin, 2017 Fieldays No.8 Wire National Art Award winner, with her work The No.8 Wire Lettering System: Fences vs Walls.

The 2019 Fieldays No.8 Wire Art Award will be hotly contested with two past winners, four recent place-getters and a previous People’s Choice Award recipient among this year’s finalists.

The annual award, managed by Waikato Museum and partnered by rural supplies co-operative Farmlands, showcases the value, versatility and symbolism of No.8 wire – or 4mm gauge – through the creation of artworks made from this iconic material of Kiwi agriculture.

Twenty-five artworks by 23 artists have been selected by the award judge, University of Auckland Associate Professor Linda Tyler, to be exhibited from May 11-June 9 at Hamilton’s ArtsPost Galleries & Shop.

“This exhibition really showcases the versatility of No.8 wire as a material for making art,” says Linda. “This year’s entries show how it can be braided, twisted, tied, wrapped, woven or just left in coils as it comes, and be expressive of both strength and delicacy, energy and line.”

Finalists include past winners Jill Godwin (2017) and Dagmar Elliott (co-winner in 2014), as well as Fiona Clark (runner-up in 2018), Gaye Jurisich (runner-up in 2017), John Mulholland (third in 2017), and Bev Goodwin (third in 2018).

The 2018 People’s Choice Award winner, Ricks Terstappen, is a double finalist in 2019.

The winning artworks will be announced at an awards ceremony on May 10. The overall winner will receive $7000, while second and third place-getters will receive $1000 and $500 respectively from the NZ National Fieldays Society Inc.

Society president Peter Carr will award the Fieldays President’s Choice Award, and visitors to the exhibition can vote for the People’s Choice Award.

“It’s fantastic to see the talent among this year’s finalists and we look forward to seeing the masterpieces they have created for this year’s competition,” says Peter.

The 2019 finalists are: Reginald Laurie, Kaukapakapa; Donna Leanne Cormack, Wellsford; John Mulholland, Warkworth; Jill Godwin, Auckland; Sophie Prendergast, Auckland; Sue Nelson, Auckland; Tanya Ankersmit, Auckland; Katrina Millington, Auckland; Bev Goodwin & Jeff Thomson, Auckland and Helensville; Gaye Jurisich, Hamilton (two entries); Elwyn Stone, Hamilton; Sue Rhodes, Hamilton; Sylvia Sinel, Waikato; Kathryn Engebretsen, Tamahere; Mike Moss, Raglan; Dagmar Elliott, Te Awamutu; Anett Pilz, Katikati; Anna Gedson, Opotiki; Sharleen Gamble, Napier; Ricks Terstappen, Hastings (two entries); Fiona Clark, Waitara; Aaron Frater, Lower Hutt; Jasmine Clark, Arrowtown.


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