The annual competition offers a platform for new artists to showcase their work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition did not take place last year but came back stronger than ever in 2021, receiving its highest ever number of entries.
As part of her prize, Golea will see her winning image on the cover of several thousand copies of the Glyndebourne Tour Programme, distributed at Glyndebourne and theatres in Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Norwich and Liverpool.
The 2021 competition challenged entrants to create an artwork inspired by the theme of ‘Forces of Nature’. Artists were asked to create works that celebrate, represent and question our insoluble relationship to nature. They could take opera as the inspiration or interpret the theme through ideas of cultivated gardens and celebrated landscape views, or wild, complicated natural phenomena and threatened environments.
Glyndebourne curator Nerissa Taysom said of this year’s entries: ‘This year we have received an extraordinary response to the Tour Art Competition, with entries from 18 different countries. The standard has been exceptionally high and we’ve seen a diverse range of techniques, from painting and printmaking to sculpture, photography and digital art. The Tour Art Competition continues to uncover new and emerging talent and we are excited to be showcasing global perspectives on the theme of nature. Keren Golea is a worthy winner.’
Her winning entry Emergence is painted in oils, a medium the artist likes to use for its versatility and complexity. The woman featured in the painting is a representation of human vulnerability, beauty, and resilience, whilst the water and the composition of light represent the natural forces that surround us.
In second place was Sharon Ferris, a Glasgow-based artist and joint third were Deeptika Bhagavathi from India and the Italian artist Barbara Nati from London.
The 2021 Tour opens at Glyndebourne on 8 October 2021.
