14.09.19 – 10.11.19

PRICELIST

Since the award’s inception in 2013, it has rapidly achieved a nationally renowned reputation as one of London’s most sensational, yet accessible, student art awards. The award

attracts artists from across the country and is widely praisedfor its scope, quality, and variety. Now in its sixth

year the award is at the forefront of the emerging art scene in the UK today.

The winner will receive a £10,000 cash prize to go towards studio costs, a solo exhibition at HIX ART in 2020 and a

name etching on the iconic HIX Award trophy, designed by Damien Hirst. Previous winners include Joshua Raz,

Felix Treadwell, Ally McIntyre Sam Bailey and most recently Elizabeth Eade whose solo exhibition at HIX ART will open

in January 2020. The award’s 30-strong judging panel includes; Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Iwan Wirth, Dylan Jones

and Mark Hix himself.

The HIX Award runner-up will receive £1,000 worth of Cass Art vouchers and this year’s People’s Choice winner will be

treated to a weekend trip for two to HIX Townhouse in Lyme Regis with a scenic dinner at HIX Oyster and Fish House.

THE AWARD

ALEXANDER DIXONMatter Diagram, 2019Steel, wood and sand100 x 140 x 50cm £5,400 plus VAT

Alexander Dixon’s work playfully challenges the boundaries consistent within a gallery setting. Turning expectation into encounter, Matter Diagram offers the chance for co-creation between viewer and artist; as we are drawn closer into inspection of the piece, it begins to shift. This interaction elicits both tension and transformation, acting as a unique catalyst for visual contemplation. Both hard edged and sensitive, the sculpture invites temptation—and rewards curiosity.

MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins

BIANCA BARANDUN16.01.19 & 12.08.18, 2019Pigments, spray paint and transfers on jesmonite 22 x 31cm each£1,800 plus VAT

Bianca Barandun’s practise is rooted in the observance of the formation of groups, and social clustering. With a background in Scientific Illustration the artist uses a variety of media to create a visual suggestion of the complexities of society. Layers blur, and embossing and debossing alternate, illustrating the intricate and labyrinthine nature of human interaction with society. These wall-based sculptures invite us to step back and consider the ways in which societal convergence and organisation take place.

MA Printmaking, Royal College of Art

CHRISTOPHER HARTMANNNo longer present, 2019Oil on canvas250 x 200cm£7,000 plus VAT

Christopher Hartmann’s painting, No longer present, deliberately denies the viewer details—and in doing so presents them with a host of questions, as this ambiguous work explores the complex themes of intent, consent and subtext. Though its larger than life-sized scale imposes intrigue and uncertainty, we are left without answers; only with a confronting sense of ambivalence as to the undertones of this striking piece.

MFA Fine Art, Goldsmiths

DAFNI ATHALophelia, 2019Layered Inkjet on plastic, wood, metal225 x 145 x 6cm £10,000 plus VAT

In Dafni Atha’s Lophelia the blown-up image of a clitoris is blurred by the screens flickering effect—the distortion creating something more akin to coral, after which the piece is named. Atha’s practice involves an intuitive assemblage of photographs which capture textures, surfaces, the body and nature. Once printed onto transparent plastic the artist multilayers the images, obscuring them further. The resulting composition suggestively explores themes of deception, sensuality, impermanence and beauty. MA Fine Art Print, Royal College of Art

DAVID MULLENGetting Madder and Madder, 2019Plant and natural earth pigments in oil on linen190 x 145 cm £6,000 plus VAT

David Mullen’s desire to reduce the waste created by his practice led him to create paintings that, if unsuccessful, could be disposed of in compost, rather than landfill. An exploration of the artists interest in colour and the materiality of paint, Getting Madder and Madder is a study of the plant madder (Rubia tinctorum) and features rose madder, the pigment produced by the plant. Earthy and rich, the resulting piece is biodegradable and non-toxic, composed using plant based and natural earth pigments.

MFA Fine Art, Goldsmiths

GABRIELA GIROLETTII’ll tell you things at random (Meadow), 2019Oil on cotton 160 x 200 cm £4,200 plus VAT

Gabriela Giroletti’s practice responds to the totally of life. She explores the complexity of the subjective human experience where it meets the objectivity of self-awareness. Inspired by everyday stimuli her work touches upon nature, music, literature and the ordinary, while remaining deliberately ambiguous. I’ll tell you things at random (Meadow) presents a wealth of contradiction; simple yet complex, abstract yet figurative, both still life and landscape. Blurring lines between creativity and philosophy, the viewer is drawn in, and all the while held at a distance.

MFA Painting, Slade School of Fine Art

JACOB LITTLEJOHNUntitled - 110, 2019Oil, handmade paper, collage & mixed media on canvas 180 x 140 x 5cm £2,500 plus VAT

Jacob Littlejohn’s practice uses the theatre as a metaphorical framework within which to explore human behaviour and interaction. His work involves abstracting theatrical props and stages in an attempt to push the viewer to reconsider their role in relation to the piece; suggesting the part of both spectator and performer. Untitled - 110 contains central motifs which act as symbolic barriers, much like stage curtains, either exposing or protecting people, emotions and ideologies. Each of Littlejohn’s works begins as the artist explores the tension that exists between the hidden and the revealed—his final compositions aiming to trigger the sublime.

BA (Hons) Painting & Printmaking, The Glasgow School of Art

JUNG MIN PARKUnveiling, 2019Glazed ceramic with sound and plinth53 x 48 x 73 cm £4,300 plus VAT

Inspired by Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy that the body is the primary site of knowing the world, Jung Min Park creates ceramic sculptures that explore the relationship between the body and repetitive gesture. These physical gestures, along with intuition and chance, accumulate into the artists work as a physical representation of bodily experience and essentially create another body of self. Abstract and colourful drawings are carved onto the surface, and a distinctive, watery, sound echoes out from chambers within the piece. The organic nature of Park’s repetition allows her work to take on a life of its own, growing into unique and rhythmic objects.

BA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts

LUCY GREGORY Applause Machine, 2019 Digital prints on aluminium, steel, fixings, paint 100 x 120 x 230 cm £4,500 plus VAT

Lucy Gregory’s Applause Machine boldly invites the viewer to become a part of the piece, activating the fractured props and creating a bizarre and comic interplay between human and inhuman. A surreal and kinetic collage, the theatricality of flatness and the parody of applause prompts the spectator to feel as though they’re inside an animation; a world where bodies and matter are flexible and unstable. The scale and sound of the piece are suggestive of sarcasm and violent, slapstick humour.

MA Sculpture, Royal College of Art

MEGAN MARY BAKERThe Night Pill, 2019Oil on Board 229 x 244cm£4,800 plus VAT

Megan Mary Baker’s practice navigates the space between dream and reality, which can come about through the process of painting. Built upon and constructed through layers of paint, the surface acts as a seam where these opposing worlds meet—the result is a piece that captures points of recognition, while dreamily dissolving into a composition of marks. The Night Pill originated from the notion that if a memory was embodied as a house, it would be encountered through windows and not doors; we could peer inside, but there is no possibility of re-entering.

BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins

MELISSA HARTLEYReflection, 2019Acrylic paint on birch ply 244 x 438 x 1.2cm£9,000 plus VAT

In Reflection, Melissa Hartley cleverly manipulates shape, space, light and colour to explore the relationships between them. Kaleidoscopic forms are balanced within the fragmented painting. The space between is inherently suggestive while also revealing the reflections of colour that pull the surrounding space in to become a part of the piece. The result is bold, playful and ethereal. Hartley’s work focuses predominantly on 2D image making and photographic interpretation, with sensitivity of light and colour being integral to her practice.

BA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins

PAUL WOODThing About A Watershed, 2019Oil paint and UV print on aluminium composite panel, steel support204 x 163 x 53cm £7,000 plus VAT

Employing print and paint, Paul Wood’s practice explores the trajectory of contemporary painting and its relationship to digital technology. This hybrid piece seeks to start a conversation between digital and analogue by combining both modern and traditional techniques and materials. At once image and object, an aluminium panel is displayed in a standalone steel frame which alludes to flat panel screens, advertising hoardings and protest placards. The composition then references and blends established oil painting motifs with digital glitches reminiscent of images consumed on screens —themes merge, but the time-honoured, painted surface is ultimately created.

MFA Fine Art, Goldsmiths

RICHARD BAKERHall Stand, 2018Oil on panel21 x 27cm £2,400 plus VAT

Richard Baker’s practice explores the hidden human histories behind seemingly insignificant objects—often ignored, they bear witness to sensuous activity; be it remembered, lived, forgotten, or mythologised. In these modestly scaled works, the depicted objects are presented dislocated from their conventional domestic settings and isolated within an intangible space. The objects appear as unadorned, formal arrangements in a painterly restaging of the interrelationship between material, image, object and time.

MA Creative Practice, Leeds Arts University

SAROJ PATELTaraxa, 2019Acrylic, spray paint, fabric, metal, polyester and emulsion80 x 80 x 80cm£2,500 plus VAT Drawing on her interest in ecology and biodiversity, Saroj Patel’s work evokes themes of mutation, co-habitation and symbiosis. Inviting us to spin the piece, the playful and tactile nature of Taraxa reconfigures, and creates new, relationships between living and non-living organisms; the exchange between viewer and artwork provoking questions around the impact of the interaction on the environments of both participants. Visually, Taraxa is at once macro and micro, both galactic and microscopic—yet, regardless of perceived scale, is consistently suggestive of a symbiotic system.

MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins

YULIA IOSILZONRed Palms, 2019Oil, silicone on transparent fabric 120 x 95 cm £1,970 plus VAT (framed) Yulia Iosilzon’s large-scale works suggest fragmented narratives which draw upon children’s illustration, everyday scenes and theatre. Painting directly onto silk, the artist’s approach is thoughtfully communicated through materials that point to weightlessness and delicacy; yet, the idea behind Red Palms is connected to the world of gangsters and the concept of the prison system. The transparency of the surface contradicts the narrative, complementing the opposed dualities inherent within the themes of the piece.

MA Fine Art, Royal College of Art

Mark Hix unveiled HIX ART when he opened the iconic Tramshed restaurant back in 2012. Hix knew he wanted to

create a dynamic, contemporary space for progressive exhibitions in the heart of vibrant Shoreditch. Surrounded

by an array of galleries, studios, creative spaces, and pop-ups, the gallery is an integral part of the local art scene,

hosting both emerging and well-established artists.

Dedicated to presenting an innovative and creative programme, Sophie Harriott, Creative Relationships

Manager runs cutting- edge exhibitions which change on an eight-weekly basis, the most eagerly anticipated being

the annual HIX Award exhibition.

HIX ART, Tramshed, 32 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3LXInfo@hixart.co.uk | 020 7033 0650 | @hixartgallery | hixart.co.uk

THE GALLERY