Dominika Kováčiková, Michaela Šuranská and Alexandra Hrehová are the names of the three artists whose works received the highest evaluation
During the 18th edition of the Painting Competition - VUB Foundation Prize for Painting for Young Artists, more than 100 artists dedicated to painting competed for the win. The three winners were awarded not only with the recognition of the international jury, but also with a financial prize, the total amount of which the VUB Foundation has increased to 30 thousand euros since the current year. The organizer of the competition once again makes the encounter with young art possible for all. The works of the 20 finalists of the Painting 2023 competition are available at a free exhibition in the Nedbalka Gallery in Bratislava until 22 October.
The impartial evaluation in the prestigious competition was this time taken care of by Michal Novotný, art curator, art critic and above all director of the collections of modern art at the National Gallery Prague, Austrian-Slovenian art historian, independent curator and educator Hana Ostan Ožbolt and Jaime Valero, painter and visual artist from Spain. For Slovakia, the jury team is rounded off by art historian, critic and curator Ivana Moncoľová. The expert jury selected 20 finalists in the first round of evaluation. And during the second session, which took place this week, it determined the three winners:
1st place - Dominika Kováčiková
The author of the winning work of the 18th Painting Competition is, according to the unanimous evaluation of the international jury, Dominika Kováčiková. She received not only the prestigious title and a valuable reference from renowned personalities, but also the highest prize from the VÚB Foundation in the amount of 15,000 euros
for her work The Instinct of Survival.
2nd place - Michaela Šuranská
Michaela Šuranská took the second place and the funds for further artistic progress in the amount of 10 000 euros for her work Research on shining stones II. According to the jury, Michaela Šuranská's paintings are compositionally very mature and with a great eye for detail. The experts appreciated her specific approach to the Slovak landscape and the way in which she transforms the history of our country and her personal relationship to it in a very original way into a hanging painting. Šuranská sovereignly transcends the boundaries of painting and installation, functionally as an emotional reflection, a personal and historical portrait of the depicted place.
3rd place - Alexandra Hrehová
Alexandra Hrehová with her painting entitled Miss Slovakia Treasure took
the third place with a financial prize of 5 000 euros. The jury highlighted the fact that the paintings of this author communicate with the viewer directly and with courage. At the same time, it appreciated the painter's ability to combine different symbolism into a functional, openly proclamatory message that does not leave the viewer breathless. Typical of our time, Hrehová transcends the established hierarchies of male and female, East and West, tradition and consumerism into direct and punchy images that nonetheless appropriately disrupt the simplicity of these categories.
Special Jury Recognition - Zuzana Badinková
This year the team of experts decided to award the Special Jury Recognition in addition to the three main prizes. In order to draw the attention of the professional public and fans of modern painting, the jury also highlighted the work of the fourth finalist, Zuzana Badinková, who entered the competition this year as a debutant with her work I-50.
Works "live" at the exhibition with free admission
The VÚB Foundation, in cooperation with the Nedbalka Gallery in Bratislava, has again prepared an exhibition with free admission, the aim of which is to spread awareness of quality domestic artistic creation among the general public. It will be open to the public until 22. All 20 finalists of this year's competition (in alphabetical order) will be exhibiting their works on display until October 22: Zuzana Badinková, Barbora Durajová, Juraj Ďuriš, Oskar Felber, Paulína Gajerová, Alexandra Hrehová, Dajana Hroššová, Monika Hurajová, David Javorský, Kristína Kandriková, Samuel Kollárik, Dominika Kováčiková, Richard Marco, Ivana Mojšová, Miroslav Sandanus, Dominika Škorváneková, Dominika Škorváneková, Anna Štefanovičová, Michaela Šuranská, Helen Tóth and Dušan Vrbovská.
See a virtual tour of the works of the finalists of the 18th Maľba competition in the Nedbalka Gallery.
