Julia Gutman awarded the 2023 Archibald Prize
Everyone has an opinion on the Archibald Prize, but anyone who believes the judges picked youth over experience this year should take a little pause.
Twenty-nine-year-old winner Julia Gutman spends months painstakingly stitching together each of her artworks, which she constructs with donated textiles and embroidery.
Julia Gutman wins the Archibald Prize for 2023 with her artwork head in the sky, feet on the ground, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Friday, May 5, 2023. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Julia is a former student at Sydney’s Jewish day school Moriah College.
(Lest anyone fear a repeat of the 2004 controversy in which the Archibald winner was challenged in court because it was a drawing, not a painting … don’t worry, Gutman’s winning work used oil paint too.)
The winning work, Head in the Sky, feet on the Ground, is a portrait of her friend, the singer-songwriter Montaigne.
She is depicted in a pose that mimics a 1917 painting by Austrian artist Egon Schiele, which subverted representations of femininity at the time.
The Archibald Prize carries a $100,000 cash component.
Gutman’s works are not only rooted in art history, but also grounded in her relationships with those closest to her.
“There is something beautiful about making something monumental from everyday relationships,” the artist told AAP in a recent interview.
She consults her family and friends about how they would like to be represented, and in telling their stories, the artist is stitching together a tale about herself too.
“We are made of the people who are close to us,” she said.
Gutman originally trained as a painter and turned to textiles in 2016, first making soft sculptures and then moving to sewn pictures about three years ago.
There has been much time at her sewing machines – she spent an extended period working alone during the pandemic, on a domestic machine and an industrial one too.
The pieces have begun to come together, with Gutman’s first solo show at Sullivan+Strumpf in Sydney in 2022.
Just a few months later, her biggest work yet, the four-panel Isn’t it all just a long conversation? was a standout in the Primavera show at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
In an interview for the exhibition last December, guest curator Michael Do told AAP that selection for Primavera often happens at a pivotal point in the careers of young artists.
“Julia is one of the most interesting voices … her work is a bold proclamation of the future of Australian art,” he said.
When combined with an Archibald win, it looks less like a pivot point and more like an exciting trajectory.
Julia is the daughter of Michael and Karen Gutman and granddaughter of the late Sydney Jewish community stalwart Margaret Gutman who was very active within The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies. She is also the niece of a very proud Sandy Gutman, aka Austen Tayshus.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark said: “The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies warmly congratulates Sydney-based artist Julia Gutman for winning this year’s prestigious Archibald Prize.
On behalf of the Board and the entire community, we wish Julia a hearty mazal tov on her incredible achievement.”
She was also congratulated by Moriah College.
