This year’s Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition at York St Mary’s included a series of free lunchtime talks. York Museums Trust’s Communications Assistant, Rachel Wade, attended three to find out more.

As a contemporary art lover, it is a real joy to be able to visit the annual Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition. The accompanying lunchtime talks give members of the public the chance to hear more about the artwork and to reflect more widely on contemporary art.

John Keane, winner of the Main Aesthetica Art Prize 2015 – Thursday 9 April

It was fascinating to hear Keane talk about the inspiration, sources, methods and exhibition of his work, particularly these harrowing portraits from a series called Fear (above).

Based on images from the Stalinist terror of the 1930s, Keane took passport-sized photographs and projected them onto a canvas, marking an outline in pencil before filling it in with oil paints.

With photo-real quality, the skill involved in creating these portraits is incredible and the effect is very moving. You can read an interview with Keane on the Aesthetica Magazine blog.

Whitney Hintz, Independent Advisor & Curator of the Hiscox Collection in a Q&A with Jennifer Alexander, Assistant Curator of Art at York Museums Trust – Thursday 14 May

For this talk, Hintz discussed with my colleague Jenny Alexander from York Art Gallery how she sources, purchases and curates artwork for the Hiscox insurance company.

The artworks are displayed in the company’s offices to inspire and engage their staff, which I thought was a very innovative and inspiring idea.

It was interesting to hear Hintz’s response to the Aesthetica Art Prize exhibitions (both current and previous shows) from the perspective of an art buyer.

Marcus Lyon, shortlisted artist for 2015 – Thursday 28 May

Like John Keane’s work, there is much more to Lyon’s images than would first appear. These intricate pieces are the result of hundreds of photos and up to 3 months of complex digital editing.

During the talk, Lyon explained how he travels by helicopter to take his shots, leaning out of open doorways with a climbing rope around his waist! It may sound crazy but the results are well worth it.

The four images in the exhibition are completely captivating; the more you look, the more you see. Read more about Marcus Lyon on his website here.

 

Find out more about the Aesthetica Art Prize 2015 on the York Museums Trust website.