Brisbane Portrait Prize

Now that the Brisbane Portrait Prize is over, I am so pleased to have won the “Performing Arts and Music” category prize with “Built This Way (Portrait of Karl S. Williams)”.

It was so touching to see how this portrait and my lucky success touched so many people, both known and unknown to me. It was a true measure of the power of art in our lives and I am honoured to play a part in this continuum.

As well as the tireless crew of Anna Reynolds and her team and my fellow artists who made this an exhibition of exceptionally high standard, I would like to thank the Lister Family for their support of the Performing Arts and Music Industry Prize, and Chief judge Jason Smith, Director, Art Gallery of South Australia for his decision and Judge’s notes:

“There is a potent allure to David Bongiorno’s portrait of the musician Karl S. Williams. Painting is constantly evolving, and contemporary painters are productively inspired and influenced by the long tradition and discipline in which they practice. I was immediately drawn to Bongiorno’s contemporary take on Renaissance portraiture. There is an enigmatic quality to Bongiorno’s image that reminded me of the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer’s famous Self-Portrait at Twenty-Nine (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) completed in 1500. Like Durer, Karl S. Williams emerges from darkness in a portrait of stillness, dignity, and a gentle humanity. The painting is technically and aesthetically refined and confidently understated.”

That Jason Smith saw and quantified what I set out to achieve with this artwork- to capture Karl’s quiet dignity and gentle humanity- validates my practice in a previously unacknowledged way, and for this I am very grateful.