The Basil Sellers Art Prize encourages a dynamic and critical reflection on all forms of sport and sporting culture in Australia. Sport has been a recurring theme in Australian art. For contemporary artists today, sport touches upon anything from everyday life through to globalisation, from the concrete experience of a game through to abstract notions like cheating and fair play. Sport is about winners and losers, individuals and teams, rules and penalties, equipment and architecture, fans and souvenirs, triumphs and scandals. The prize encourages contemporary artists to develop their practice, to engage with the many themes within sport past and present, and to contribute to critical reflection on all forms of sport and sporting culture in Australia.
The Basil Sellers Art Prize 2012 was awarded to Jon Campbell for his multi-panel painting Dream Team (2012). The exhibition presented sculpture, painting, photography and drawing by contemporary Australian artists shortlisted for the third biennial award, which offered $100,000 for a single outstanding work of art.
Coordinated by Bala Starr.
Shortlisted artists
Brook Andrew, Richard Bell, Lauren Brincat, Jon Campbell, Eugene Carchesio, Greg Creek, Louise Hearman, Pat Macan, Gabriella Mangano and Silvana Mangano, Simon Perry, Kerrie Poliness, Patrick Pound, Sangeeta Sandrasegar, Christian Thompson.
Jon Campbell, Dream Team 2012, enamel paint on plywood, 22 paintings installation, dimensions variable, approx. 300 x 300 cm. © Courtesy the artist, Kalimanrawlins, Melbourne and Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney.