MAG&M’s Portraits Project artists selected for the Archibald Prize

Four artists currently exhibiting in Manly Art Gallery & Museum’s signature exhibition Portraits Project have been selected as finalists in the 2020 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW.

 Wendy Sharpe, Guy Maestri, Katherine Edney and Blak Douglas (Adam Hill), are amongst 15 acclaimed Sydney artists whose self-portraits are part of a curated exhibition currently on display, which celebrates the gallery’s 90th birthday. 

 With a record-breaking 1068 entries received for the 2020 Archibald Prize, being selected as part of the pool of 55 finalists by the Art Gallery of NSW’s trustees is an extraordinary achievement.

 Each of the four artists has enjoyed long connections to the Northern Beaches over many years, either living or working here or collaborating with the gallery on previous projects. 

 Manly Art Gallery & Museum’s commissioning of 15 self-portraits for their Portraits Project is well-timed, with 29 of the 55 Archibald finalists being portraits of artists and 12 of those being self-portraits.

 Blak Douglas’ self-portrait ‘My boomerang won't come back’  speaks loudly to his entry for the Archibald Prize - a powerful portrait of Dujuan Hoosen titled Writing In The Sand.

 This is the fourth time Blak Douglas has been an Archibald finalist: A self-taught painter, his bold works focus on what it means to be an Aboriginal person in the 21st century. 

 The winners of the $100,000 Archibald Prize will be announced on September 25, with the exhibition opening to the public on September 26.

 Catch the Portraits Project exhibition at MAG&M until November 29 to see the works of these extraordinary contemporary artists and learn more about the art of self-portraiture.