Portraits of Uncle Archie Roach and Silverchair’s Daniel Johns are among the 57 finalists for the 2023 Archibald Prize.
The finalists, revealed today (April 27), also include paintings of Electric Fields’ Zaachariaha Fielding and Cold Chisel’s Don Walker. The annual arts award recognises the best portrait of a figure “distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia”.
The winner of the 2023 Archibald Prize and its $100,000 award will be announced May 5. The finalist paintings for the Archibald Prize – as well as the Wynne and Sulman Prizes – will go on display at the Art Gallery of NSW from May 6 to September 3.
Anh Do’s portrait of Uncle Archie Roach is titled ‘Seeing Ruby’, inspired by something the legendary Gunditjmara and Bundjalung singer-songwriter, who died in July 2022, told the artist.
“Archie once told me he was terrified of dying, but there was another part of him that was okay with it, because he thought he might get to see his late wife, Ruby Hunter, again,” said five-time Archibald finalist Do in a statement on the website of the Arts Gallery NSW.
“In this portrait, I’m trying to capture that moment – the moment when Archie sees Ruby again.”
Roach’s family have given permission for his name and image to be referenced in the artwork and displayed within the exhibition.
Painter and muralist Matt Adnate (who painted Baker Boy for the cover of his debut album ‘Gela’) was approached to create a portrait of Johns for his 2022 exhibition ‘Daniel Johns: Past, Present and Future Never’ in Melbourne.
“I have portrayed him with an expression conveying the weight of the world, given the struggles he endured after his meteoric rise to stardom as a teenager. I immersed the portrait in a blend of abstract, vivid colours to represent his complex journey and fortitude. Daniel appreciated the work and encouraged me to enter it into the Archibald,” Adnate said of the painting, titled ‘Echoes of a teenage superstar’.
Head to the Arts Gallery NSW’s website to see the works and read the statements of Michael Simms, who painted Electric Fields’ Zaachariaha Fielding, and Michelle Hiscock, who painted Cold Chisel’s Don Walker.
Other entertainers who are the subjects of Archibald finalists include actress and Bump creator Claudia Karvan, actress and director Noni Hazlehurst, actor Sam Neill, and actor Zoe Terakes. Andrea Huelin’s portrait of New Zealand comedian Cal Wilson is not only an Archibald finalist but also the winner of the Packing Room Prize, a $3,000 cash prize judged by the Art Gallery staff who receive, unpack and hang the entries.