Craig WYLIE

'Young talent wins at National Portrait Gallery'

35-year-old London artist Craig Wylie has won the BP Portrait Award 2008 for his epic study of his girlfriend Katherine Raw.

Wylie was announced as the winner by Ian Hislop at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) on Monday June 16 2008. He wins £25,000 together with a commission, at the National Portrait Gallery Trustees' discretion, worth £4,000.

In a record-breaking year for entries to the prize from non-UK artists, the British painter was chosen from 1,727 registered entries, 536 of (31% of the total) which came from outside the UK.

Wylie, who turned 35 on 17 June, was shortlisted for the first time this year, having been included in the BP Portrait Award exhibition for the past three years.

His winning portrait of his girlfriend, Katherine Raw, is based on sittings from his Hackney Wick studio in 2005. He made two previous attempts at the painting through 2006, starting the final version in 2007. "On one level the viewer's intrusion into the sitter's emotional state is tacitly accepted," said Wylie, "on another it is positively rebuffed."

Many of you were already familiar with Craig’s masterly Still Life and Figure paintings. He has now unequivocally decided that his future output must contain a substantial body of minimalist work. I was therefore happy to introduce the show Expansions, but he was more than unfortunate with the timing. However,provided he is able to remain steadfast in this bold experiment, he should win a place among the higher ranks of abstract artists in Britain.

He should be watched carefully, as he has the youthful dash, energy and determination to carry things through to his desired conclusion. He is a very fine painter with a strong traditional grounding and incredible precision with the brush.

Noel Oddy, November 2001

Born Masvingo, Zimbabwe 1973. Craig attended

Rhodes University,Grahamstown,South Africa,1992-6 gaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Distinction, together with a Degree in Journalism.

He came to live and work in London in 1998.

Exhibition at Highgate Fine Art - EXPANSIONS - October 24th - November 2001

"This exhibition marked the surfacing of strains hidden in the undertow of the realist works. My integral search for elegance and simplicity of statement has led me to remove the illusion of reality from the work and to focus upon the bedrock qualities that remain in my paintings - rigorous composition; delicacy of line and touch; quality of paint surface; and subtle yet complex use of both colour and form. These elements in themselves now form the subject of my work.

By giving autonomy to automatic mark-making I have released an infinite project for myself, a project that is open-ended and yet constantly being redirected through the selection of what work is successful. This system is a fundamental expression of the mode of life, working in the moment allowing for greater expression of the breadth and depth of my aesthetic nature. This approach allows for the growth of unforeseen and unexpected images, which although abstract are nevertheless right. The marks that appear inform and provoke the subsequent work. Although not intentionally, this scheme is more reflective of Buddhist teaching, the influence of meditation perhaps.

For whatever reason, the new work, although simpler in approach (cheekily so some may say), has a resolute freshness and clarity,elegance and sophistication which seems to provoke visual analogies from just the other side of the subconscious mind."

Craig Wylie, September 2001

Selected Exhibitions:

1997 Karen Mckerron,Johannesburg,South Africa(solo)

1998 Gallery Inner Space,Harare,Zimbabwe

1998 Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe

1998 Neuer Kunstverein, Aschaffenburg, Germany

1999 Jonathan Cooper, Chelsea, London

2000 Highgate Fine Art,Highgate Village,London

2001 Royal Portrait Society,Mall Gallery,London

2001 Neuer Kunstverein,Aschaffenburg,Germany(solo)

2001 Royal Institute of Oil Painters,Mall

Galleries London