I am honored to announce my self portrait 'A Window In' has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2023 Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize.
The Ruth Borchard Prize continues to encourage the development of contemporary self-portraiture through a bi-annual competition reflecting and celebrating the diversity of contemporary art practices, with no restrictions on size style or media.
The judges inlcude Gabriele Finaldi (Director of the National Gallery), Melanie Gerlis (Financial Times Art Market Columnist), Andrea Rose (former Director of the British Council), Stephen Whittle (Principal Manager The Atkinson Museum), Lucy Jones (2021 Prize Winner) and David Borchard (grandson of Ruth Borchard).
Thank you to the judges and to Piano Nobile Gallery, London for considering my work.
'A Window In' - Self Portrait
'A Window In', Rachel Solimeno, 2023
12x12" 13"x13" framed
Iridescent Plexiglass, digital machine learned portraits, archival pigment ink, transparency film, mats, UV museum glass
This mixed media 3d self-portrait titled 'A Window In' utilizes machine learned images from ten years of my face data. I wrote code to investigate how a machine face recognition algorithm sees us. Self portraits are a window into the soul but also reflect the world around us and connect us in today's context. I find that self portraiture is a way to experiment and free up my artistic practice. Read more about my process painting with math here
'A Window In' is available for purchase through the online exhibition.
Online Exhibition
You can view the online exhibition of shortlisted and longlisted work here on Piano Nobile's site Self-Portrait Prize 2023 | Online Exhibition or through artsy.org where you can search, filter and see a curated set of portraits.
Exhibition of Distinguished Work
'A Window In' will be exhibited amongst a curated set of distinguished works and alongside the winning work at The Atkinson Museum, Southport, UK from September to December 2023. Stay tuned for more information about the opening reception on Friday 22nd September.
Self Portrait Prize
The Atkinson Museum, Southport, UK
Sept - Dec 2023
Opening Reception
Friday Sep 22nd
2023 Prize Announcement Video
The announcement video features judges Gabriele Finaldi and Melanie Gerlis, the director of the Atkinson Museum Stephen Whittle, Andrea Rose OBE, Artists Oli Epp, Liorah Tchiprout. Past winners Benjamin Ogbebor and Lucy Jones give their impressions of the award, and see Maggie Gambling CBE giving the winning news to artist Colin Davidson!
The Winning Self Portrait
Colin Davidson's incredibly novel, huge painted head deservedly won the 10,000 pound prize. Photo courtesy of his instagram @colin_davidson_artist.
History of The Ruth Borchard Collection
You can read more about the incredible life of Ruth Borchard and her original collection here and follow their instagram at @selfportraitprize