John Moores Painting Prize 2016

The five winners of this year’s John Moores Painting Prize China have just opened their new exhibition of work at the John Lennon Art and Design Building, featuring work produced in Liverpool during a three week residency at LJMU.

For the previous four years, winners of the John Moores Painting Prize China have spent a month in Liverpool to develop their work and be part of the UK painting prize, held every two years at the Walker Art Gallery. While in the UK, the artists have explored the North West and visited landmarks, such Another Place, Anthony Gormley’s permanent artwork at Crosby. 

The artist, Lang Shuilong, whose work Fundamental Tool won him this year’s prize showed his dust series of works, where he used dust from a building site to create imprints of tools used by workmen involved in China’s massive urban construction programme.

LJMU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nigel Weatherill welcomed the artists to Liverpool and Lewis Biggs, trustee of the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust thanked the University for its continuing support of a scheme which allows the Trust to "do things differently with the prize, thanks to LJMU’s intervention."

One of the winning artists, Bian Shaozhi then briefly spoke to tell the audience that "over the few weeks we have spent in Liverpool the city has impressed us and has been a great environment for creating our new works."

The John Moores Painting Prize China is the country’s most prestigious arts prize and has quickly built up a reputation in China which attracts thousands of artists to enter each year, in the hope that their art would be shortlisted to feature in the final selection. The prize is run in cooperation with the College of Fine Arts at Shanghai University, the British Council, LJMU and the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust.

The exhibition is taking place in the John Lennon Art and Design Building’s Public Exhibition Space until 10 July, and the winning pieces brought over from China will be exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery as a companion to the John Moores Painting Prize which opens on 9 July. 

Pictured (left to right): Bian Shaozhi, Wang Wang, Zhang Yang, Lang Shuilong, Peter Appleton, Professor Nigel Weatherill, Lewis Biggs, Professor Joe Yates, Professor Ling Min and Lei Shaowen