An artist whose performative work captivated visitors to Dundee University’s Cooper Gallery has been named as the winner of one of the world’s most prestigious drawing prizes.
Led by Professor Anita Taylor, Dean of the University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is regarded as the UK’s most important annual exhibition of drawing.
For the first time in its history, the £8,000 first prize went to a performative drawing.
Spanish artist M. Lohrum’s You are It invited visitors to follow a series of rules that led to them contributing to the final work.
The performance was adapted to accommodate safe social distancing for participants at Dundee towards the end of last year.
The Cooper Gallery exhibition comprised 71 works by 56 shortlisted artists.
It explored stories of love in the age of the coronavirus, including the intimacy and hardships of working as a carer.
Professor Taylor said: “We are delighted to have been able to present the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 exhibition and tour in the current climate.
“It was simply brilliant to bring this exhibition to Cooper Gallery where the public and university community were able to experience the shortlisted drawings,” said Professor Taylor.
Professor Taylor founded the annual exhibition, then known as the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition, in 1994.
A total of 4,274 entries were submitted from around the world in 2020.
The awards were announced in a London ceremony.
The winner is based between Tenerife and London and has exhibited her work internationally as well as being recognised in several prestigious award programmes.
The exhibition is online at the Trinity Buoy Wharf website.
