Saatchi Gallery and ABSOLUT VODKA announce Studio Fund and new commissions by New Sensations artists

Absolut have partnered with the Saatchi Gallery on this year’s New Sensations exhibition which includes work by the most imaginative and talented artists graduating in the UK.

For the second year in a row, Absolut have created a Studio Fund to help one of the shortlisted artists win a prize to fund a studio for a year to help them develop their practice.

Absolut Originality

Three artists were shortlisted to create a piece inspired by Absolut’s current limited edition Absolut Originality which celebrates the brands signature cobalt blue colour.

Absolut has been active in the art world since 1986, when it invited Andy Warhol to create the first in a series of iconic advertisements inspired by the Absolut bottle. Since then, Absolut has collaborated with more than 1000 artists on over 800 commissioned projects.

Absolut Originality is a limited collection which features four million individually designed bottles, each made into a one-of-a-kind work of art with a drop of Absolut Cobalt Blue infused into the molten glass during production.

Twenty graduates from BA and MA courses at UK and the Republic of Ireland colleges and universities were chosen by the judges: artists Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin; Nick Hackworth, founder of Paradise Row, London; Ossian Ward, formerly visual arts editor of Time Out and now at the Lisson Gallery, London; Tabitha Jackson, Commissioning Editor, Arts, Channel 4; and Rebecca Wilson, Chief Curator, Saatchi Online and Director, Saatchi Gallery.

Of these twenty artists, three were shortlisted for the Absolut Studio Fund. They are:

Freya Douglas-Morris (Royal College of Art)

Exposing themselves to the moonlight like bathers under a midnight sun, Watercolour, 2013

“The inky dark, yet bright quality of the Absolut cobalt blue reminded me of passages in a book I read recently, The Crystal World by JG Ballard. Within this book there is a rendering of a landscape afflicted by both night and day, where the days are dullened and the nights sparkle. My painting draws upon the atmosphere of these passages, using Absolut’s cobalt blue to lend inkiness to the image.”

Katja Larsson (Glasgow School of Art)

Cloudy is the stuff of stones, paper sculpture, 2013

“I wanted to make a rock out of thin matte ultramarine paper, referencing works of both Yves Klein and Anish Kapoor. Paper sheets are pressed against the surface of a rock to replicate its texture, then removed and joined at the sides to create a complete but hollow shape of a rock. When lit from the side the sculpture appears slightly translucent, creating a resemblance of ice, its hollowness revealed.”

Philippa Kuligowski (Glasgow School of Art) – THE WINNER

Darn that Blue, film, 2013

“The colour blue runs just as a deep in any British Citizen – Princess Diana’s iconic blue dress and engagement ring, the sea and sky surrounding us, flying on our Union Jack flag and something blue will be worn by every bride across the country. My piece includes footage of such examples of blue within our culture as part of the British way of life.”

Their work will be unveiled at the exhibition, alongside the 2012 winner of the Absolut commission, Antonio Marguet. The overall winner of the Absolut Studio Fund will receive financial support to help fund a studio space for 12 months.

New Sensations

Dates: 14^th – 17^th October 2013

Times: 11-6pm

Address: B1, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London WC1

Entry: Free

www.saatchionline.com/newsensations