Dobell Prize for Drawing

Overview

Be warned: the Dobell Prize for Drawing is a decidedly 3D, video, live art and soundscape free zone. There are no lasers, no mechanical drawing machines, no Frankenstein music/art installations. No way: this is Australia’s top shelf prize for drawing, and there’s some serious, old school, two dimensional technique on show here.

Drawing is no longer the scaffolding upon which the rest of an artist’s practice hangs. And perhaps it’s natural that audiences will be drawn to labour intensive works, as if the dedication of time leads to deeper integrity and intelligence in a work. Of course it doesn't, but it’s comforting to know that in an art world of immersive installations, large scale video works and YouTube mashups, hand drawn images can still captivate. This year’s Dobell is a reminder of what an honest and direct form of communication drawing can be. It’s an art show for those who want to go back to basics.

The artist bringing home the $30,000 bling this year is 73-year-old Gareth Sansom. His work, Made in Wadeye, comprises twenty A3-sized, expressive, colourful drawings on paper, and with its collage-like approach, it’s one of the more contemporary works in the show. Materially, it’s got a bit of everything: ink, graphite, coloured pencil, felt-tipped pen, ballpoint pen and even earth. Perhaps Sansom’s win is an indication that this comfortable drawing prize is trying to get off the track it’s beaten for the last twenty years.

Along with this year's winner, it was announced at the prize’s launch (at the stubbornly unhip time of 11am on a Friday morning) that 2012 will be the Dobell’s last year. It's to be replaced by an overhauled biennial prize aimed at refreshing drawing in a contemporary format (aka, getting with the program). We’re keeping our eyes peeled for a new, improved prize that expands the boundaries of what drawing can do and be in a digital, 21st Century age of art.

Image: Dobell Prize for Drawing 2012 winner: Gareth Sansom,"Made in Wadeye", 2012