The Art Gallery of New South Wales has announced Sydney artist Tom Polo as the winner of the 2015 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. In 2007, Polo was an inaugural recipient of the Parramatta Artists’ Studios residency and has since exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Australia and the United Kingdom.Valued at $30,000, the Brett Whiteley scholarship gives an Australian painter between the ages of 20 and 30 the opportunity to undertake a three month residency at one of the Art Gallery of NSW’s studios at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and a up to a further three months travelling throughout Europe to further their art education.This year’s judges were Australian artist and 2014 Archibald Prize winner, Fiona Lowry, and the Art Gallery of NSW’s head of Australian art, Wayne Tunnicliffe. Lowry said she was drawn to the poetical nature of Polo’s paintings and is excited to see how his practice develops after his time in Paris.“Tom’s work illuminates anxieties and failures in a most beautiful way. His practice is well developed and he has a deep knowledge of what he wants to talk about as an artist. This direction and understanding will only grow further through spending time in the cultural melting pot that is Paris,” Lowry said.“I have no doubt that embarking on this wonderful opportunity at this point in his life, Tom will see his career go from strength to strength,” Lowry added.“All she needs,” a painting from Polo’s winning body of work, is currently on display at the Brett Whiteley Studio at 2 Raper Street in Surry Hills until 13 Sep 2015 alongside works by finalists Jordan Richardson (Highly Commended), Clara Adolphs, Sally Anderson, Natasha Bieniek, Annalisa Ferraris, and Matilda Julian.
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