Sophie Charalambous, Comings and Goings, 2019, Monoprint on paper. The judging panel remarked on the scale of this monoprint which was highly ambitious for an emerging printmaker and the spontaneous energy and theatricality of its composition.
Winner of the Jerwood Printmaking Today Prize 2020
The Jerwood Printmaking Today Prize was introduced in 2019 as a new initiative in a tripartite partnership with the London Original Print Fair (LOPF) and Printmaking Today. Its focus is on identifying emerging artists who are excelling in the field of printmaking and demonstrating a deep understanding of the medium or a fresh approach to printmaking. Nominations are invited from exhibitors at the LOPF.
The winner of the Jerwood Printmaking Today Prize 2020 is Sophie Charalambous for her monoprint Comings and Goings. She receives £2,500 and a feature article in the Winter issue of Printmaking Today. Commenting on the selection, Anne Desmet RA, chair of the judging panel said:
The scale of this monoprint was highly ambitious for a relative newcomer to printmaking. This coupled with its spontaneous energy and the theatricality of its composition made it stand out for the panel. We very much hope that winning this prize will encourage Sophie to enhance and develop her printmaking skills in exciting and unpredictable directions.
The judging panel for the 2020 prize was chaired by Anne Desmet RA and included Leonie Bradley, artist and Editor Printmaking Today; Catherine Daunt, Hamish Parker Curator of Modern and Contemporary Graphic Art, British Museum; Philippa Hogan-Hern, Executive Director, Jerwood and Helen Rosslyn, Director, LOPF.
The other shortlisted artists for the Jerwood Printmaking Today Prize 2020 were: Prudence Ainslie, Nick Archer, Lisa Chang Lee ARE and Calum McClure.
Speaking about the Jerwood Printmaking Today Prize 2020, Anne Desmet RA, said,
“It was a pleasure and an honour to chair this prize for a second year. The standard of submissions was again very high with memorable prints from young early-career artists and by mid-career artists who are new to printmaking.
Works were wonderfully diverse, ranging from the intensively figurative to pure abstraction and some bold sloganeering. There were monoprints, multi-layered woodblocks, screenprints, etchings, stone lithographs and any number of mixed-media and experimental processes. Reducing our collective shortlist to just five artists was difficult, yet that difficulty reflects the strength and vitality of the art of print and the increasing numbers of galleries which support it.”
