ISA Art Competition Winner

Artist, Izzy, in Upper Sixth has recently been celebrated by the Independent Schools Association (ISA) National Art Competition as their Regional winner of the KS5 3D category for the South East. The annual competition presents the opportunity for students to showcase their work and ideas, with categories to cover different key stages and media, from 2D art, through to fashion and photography.

The winning piece ‘Homage to Vincent Van Gogh’ is a spectacular embodiment of ‘The Starry Night’, a painting considered to be the artist’s ‘magnum opus’. The chair was initially created in the summer of 2020 as the prompt ‘ Re-Imagine’ which inspired the Lower Sixth Art group.

“The piece came as a natural part of my A Level project,  looking at every day objects as a canvas,” explained Izzy, “The Van Gogh reference represents the iconography of his work so it is instantly recognisable as an art piece and not a chair. It also has an embroidered seat so it’s also not really designed to be sat on. The seat was the hardest part because it was fiddly and intricate but what I enjoyed the most was the process of being creative.”

The chair is not the only everyday object Izzy has beautified; a desk and a mirror have also become canvasses for her artistic talents. “I like working on something that isn’t a traditional canvas, it’s different to what I’ve done before. I like exploring how to apply paint to things and challenging the definition of what art can be. I enjoy working in the post-impressionist style; using techniques from an historical art movement has helped me to refine and develop my skills.”

When Mark Wood, Head of Art, entered Izzy for the competition she was excited but when she got through she was overjoyed: “I was pretty happy about it; I had a look online at the other competitor and there are some really strong pieces.” She reflected.

The finals of the ISA National Art Competition are being held online in February 2021. Izzy is hoping to continue her creative success with a place on an Art Foundation course next academic year. Good luck Izzy!