Young Masters

A manga-inspired print of Frida Kahlo in The Oval Office and an immersive installation created from hundreds of fabric flowers are among the works created by the artists shortlisted for the 2019 Young Masters Art Prize. This international art prize, initiated by The Cynthia Corbett Gallery in 2009, celebrates contemporary artists whose work responds to art from the past.

Twenty contemporary artists from all of the world have been shortlisted for the £1,500 Young Masters Art Prize, with an exhibition of their work at La Galleria in the Royal Opera Arcade in central London. They include June August, whose screen prints take inspiration from the Japanese high art of the Edo period and manga and animé, and Ruth Chambers, whose painstakingly formed envelope drawings are influenced by Modernism, while celebrating the slowness of paper communication.

Fifteen artists have also been shortlisted for the Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize, a strand of the Young Masters Art Prize that was launched in 2014 to give a separate platform for ceramics. They include Connor Coulston, whose figurines inspired by his Nan’s kitsch ornaments tackle issues ranging from child poverty to class and identity; and Nuala O’Donovan, who creates delicate porcelain pieces based on the geometry of natural forms.

The winners of both strands of the Young Masters Art Prize will be announced on 1 October at a prize ceremony during the shortlist exhibition.

Read next: Jennifer Harper's article New Talent, Old Skills in the Endeavour issue. Subscribe to Selvedge here.