Smart money on the Finn review
Martin Ball’s painting of Crowded House’s Neil Finn has been selected as the winner of the Packing Room Prize in this year’s Archibald Prize.
The $500 Packing Room Prize, awarded by the gallery staff who handle the entries, went to New Zealander Martin Ball for his portrait of Crowded House’s frontman, Neil Finn. “It’s a very good picture and it’s very Neil Finn,” said the gallery’s head storeman, Steve Peters. “I have no idea [about art], but I know what I like, and I think this is a pretty good one.”
The Packing Room Prize gives staff at the Art Gallery of New South Wales the opportunity to select their favourite work from entries received for The Archibald Prize each year.
The prize is set for another round of controversy, with the inclusion of Melbourne artist Sam Leach’s self portrait, depicting himself as Adolf Hitler.
Far from seeking to glorify Hitler, Leach hopes his work will serve as a warning. “The Nazis are the pinnacle of evil in modern times, but the culture that produced them is not so different from the culture that I’m part of. By doing this I’m trying to confront my own culture.”
Photos of this year’s finalists are online (audio visual presentation), and the exhibition opens on 8 March at AGNSW.
