Peter McDonald wins John Moores Painting Prize

Peter McDonald’s painting depicting an artist slashing a canvas has won this year’s John Moores contemporary painting prize. “Fontana,” by the Tokyo-born McDonald, reimagines the working practice of Italian artist Lucio Fontana, who made a series of works featuring canvases with slashes and holes. The painting, chosen from 40 works shortlisted for the �25,000 prize, was described by a judge as “one of the most inventive paintings I’ve seen”. McDonald, 35, who studied art at Central Saint Martins and the Royal Academy Schools, said today he felt “ecstatic, very happy and shocked”. “All the other works were really good so it was an added surprise,” he said, speaking from the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. “I hoped the judges would appreciate the various layers [in Fontana]. I think of it as a painter’s painting.”
This year’s jurors included artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, art critic Sacha Craddock, and painters Graham Crowley and Paul Morrison. Artist Crowley said the winning painting “acts as a tantalising and provocative glimpse into the way we think”. (Via Natalie Hanman in The Guardian)Related links:John Moores Painting Prize: Shortlist releasedMie Olise Kj�rgaard perches in Houston