Sculpture by David A Smith

The Catlin Art Prize is a showcase for talented young graduates, one year on from their graduation shows. It is one of the most closely watched prizes in the art world as it offers a glimpse of the potential art stars of the future. Last night art buyers, gallerists and critics gathered at the Village Underground to see the eight artists’ work and congratulate the winner.

Reynir Hutber was the winner of the prize – of £3000,  awarded last night at the Shoreditch venue. His piece was a video of himself foetally positioned on the floor, which the viewer could engage with by reaching into space; the video of the artist was combined with live filming of the viewer so that the viewer seemed to touch the body.

All eight artists’ work spanned many mediums including paintings, sculptures and photography. They all received commissions or made sales last night.

The eight finalists:

Adam Dix‘s work explores the relationship between people and technology – one of his paintings in the Catlin show depicts ballerinas dancing with laptops held above their heads.

Alexander Allan creates sculptures which explore the dynamic between the man-made and natural world – he had built  textured grey concrete tower, which, though it was around 8ft high, was overlooked as it seemed to blend into the surroundings.

Alex Virji‘s oval paintings use bold  colours to create a playful style.

David A Smith used vellum, glowing wires and casts of animals to create tactile sculptures. His work includes a blue vellum gramophone inspired sculpture, a shiny black deer head with glow wires coming from its mouth and a smooth black fox facing a glowing red tube.

Miyo Yoshida has made casts of her body parts, they lie in silver dishes alongside bar coded tags which denote their price on the black market. Her hair is worth £500 but because of her age (38) her eggs can’t be sold.

Reynir Hutber‘s work combines images of the naked form with disorienting sounds in a small space creating a claustrophobic atmosphere.

Sonny Sanjay Vadgama uses large scale projections and sculptures to explore political and cultural themes. His work was a room filled with thumping white noise and a black and white pixellated projection of running silhouettes.

Victoria Matkin‘s ghostly sculptures appear to float within the space, creating a sense of unease.