Alessandro Carboni, Gold on Toast

Alessandro is the solo show winner, winning a residency.

Our Residency winner is Alessandro Carboni with Gold on Toast. He was shortlisted by the jury and selected by Arbeit, and will have a solo show with a production fee. We enjoyed the elevation of something mundane, making the ordinary extraordinary and the questions it left on us as viewers on luxury commodities and the value we place on things. We look forward to this exhibition coming up.

About the work: Gold on Toast plays with the juxtaposition between a staple food and the luxury commodity of gold. The first element is a basic food, widely available and, particularly in this processed form of sliced bread, cheap and soft. The gold, on the other hand, is hard, expensive and used to showcase wealth and status. The two elements together however, change these meanings. Gold perhaps is available to everyone in copious amounts or perhaps bread is becoming a high end rarity. By doing this, Gold on Toast makes the viewer reflect on the value of goods and our relationship with them.

Zsuzsanna, Coffee?

Zsuzsanna wins 8 canvases worth £225

This work was definitely on of the stand out pieces of this years show. We felt it to be brave in how it’s been organised in an unconventional way with it’s purposeful naivety. Superficially it feels naïve but infact it’s not, its very sophisticated. The fact that she hasn’t been too literal is part of its charm. There is a happiness when you look at it. The bold blue outlines as she rightly said, makes it all the better, it’s captivating and impressive

Zsuzsanna gives a background to the piece. "We always had big conversations at the dining table at home. After lunch coffee was served and it brought warmness and long loud laughter. And any time if someone visits us nowwe sit at the dining table and enjoy a cup of coffee together. First, I used acrylic paint

Michael O'Mahony, Etching of No. 77

Michael wins a £100 voucher and 2 canvases

The work Visually Resembles an architectural blueprint, the study is meticulously precise and chaotic in equal measure. Michael’s ‘home’ manages to be simple and complex, both distinctly familiar and impossible to grasp. The artist’s use of mark making draws us in and invites us to find clues to the authors relationship with the space. It sparked our curiosity unanimously.

The obsessive draughtsmanship leaves us questioning whether the artist wishes to convey a sense of confinement and solitude or could it be an expression of adoration and comfort. It’s these qualities that kept us returning to the picture and provides room for the viewers own interpretation.

Etching of No. 77 is an image of the house in which the artist grew up.

Lucy Kaur, Summer at Home

Lucy wins a £25 voucher.

Lucy Kaur’s work: "Summer at home", is exceptionally homely, welcoming and joyous. Its familiarity can resonate with so many. We loved the intentional, fluidity of the drawing. In summary, it makes you feel good when you look at it – it’s uplifting and hopeful.

Lucy describes her work as: "Finding the magic in the mundane and familiar."

Monica Perez Vega, The In-Between

Monica wins a £25 voucher.

The In-between is both a quiet personal tale and a very current topic that we are all witness to. Themes of displacement painted in a subtle colour scheme brings to question about the physicality of home. The luxury of space and permanence in a home makes one aware of the fugitiveness of some the lives of unfortunate people. It's a thematically engrossing painting.

The artist comments: "The tent is a transient and adaptable form that holds sanctuary in a liminal spacebetween adventure and survival; beginning and end. I've moved so many times, and am always at the mercy of others. Of Landlords, of Visas, of jobs, of policies. A perpetual limbo. Although my life has been an adventure, it also seems to hang by a thread; as if the rug will be pulled from under me at any given moment. We bought our house in 2023. Maybe we're finally home."

Rosa de Sausmarez Parry, Car Story

Rosa wins a £25 voucher.

This was a remarkably original piece and masterfully skilful. We were impressed with the individual compositions - every still is spectacular. The film as a whole, too was mesmerizing. Without being obvious, it makes you think about your own car journey.

Rosa tells us: "Car story is the result of a slow, physical process. Each frame is hand-cut as a stencil and layered with spray paint. In a time of speed and automation, I chose repetition, resistance, and the trace of the hand. Drawing from the visual language of the city: signs, lines and control blur the line between direction and disorientation. This film is a quiet reach to return to something wider, slower, and more true. Music by Bosco Taylor."