Two Kilkenny artists shortlisted for Zurich Portrait Prize

From hundreds of entries, the shortlist of this year’s Zurich Portrait Prize have been announced by the National Gallery of Ireland.

Two Kilkenny artists have been shortlisted for the Zurich Portrait Prize: Bernadette Kiely for her oil painting An artist becomes their work – portrait of Paul Mosse in his studio, 2021; and Vera Klute for her oil painting Self-Portrait, 2020.

The winner of the Zurich Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000.

Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works.
Judges for the Zurich Portrait Prize are Diana Copperwhite, artist; Anna O'Sullivan, Director of the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny; and Nick Miller, artist.

Exhibitions of shortlisted works will run at the National Gallery of Ireland between November and April 2023. The exhibition will then travel to the Regional Cultural Centre i Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, where it will be displayed between June 3 and September 2, 2023.

Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “The Zurich Portrait Prize is now firmly established as an annual opportunity for artists of all ages to submit work for assessment by an independent panel of judges.

“The adjudicators are appointed each year, bringing new insights to the process of selecting the winning and commended artists. Zurich is a terrific partner in this venture. The exhibition now tours after it finishes its run at the Gallery, allowing works to be seen outside Dublin. The Gallery is delighted that this exhibition gives many new and returning artists the opportunity to show their work in the National Gallery of Ireland. We look forward to the exhibitions later this year at the Gallery and next year in the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny.”

Neil Freshwater, CEO of Zurich, said, “The Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize brings together the remarkable breadth of talent in Ireland’s portrait artists of all ages. We are delighted to see such a strong selection of works once again in this year’s shortlists and very proud to continue our sponsorship of these exciting competitions.”

Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie