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Ian Cumberland wins 3rd prize in prestigious BP Portrait Award 2011

Ian Cumberland has achieved third place in one of the world's most prestigious contemporary portrait competitions.

The 28-year-old artist's oil on linen submission entitled 'Just To Feel Normal' is a 5ft x 3.5ft half-smiling head-and-shoulders portrait of a man.

"This is a painting of a friend whose story is like many others from my generation, who have fallen victim to themselves and the grinding pressures of life," he said.

Ian, who now lives and works in Comber, said he felt honoured to be part of the competition.

"It's a real compliment to be even asked to exhibit in the BP Portrait Award so to be in the top three is a genuine honour and I'm delighted," he said. Ian's work was also exhibited as part of the competition in 2009.

The winners were announced at the National Portrait Gallery, London, on Tuesday 14 June. First place was awarded to 57-year-old Wim Heldens for 'Distracted' which is a picture of a 25-year-old student the artist has painted 17 times at different stages of his life.

Ian's portrait is one of 55 entries chosen for the annual awards' exhibition which runs until Sunday, 18 September at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Ian Cumberland shortlisted for the world's most prestigious portrait competition

Ian Cumberland has been shortlisted for one of the world's most prestigious art prizes...the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London. After a record number of 2,372 entries, four artists have been shortlisted for the Award at the National Portrait Gallery.

In addition to a prize of £25,000, the winner will receive a commission worth £4,000. The second prize will be £8,000 and third £6,000. For the fifth year there will be a BP Young Artist Award of £5,000 for the work of an entrant aged between 18 and 30. Both Ian Cumberland and New York based artist Sertan Saltan are eligible for this award.

The actual award will be announced on Tuesday 14 June. Ian's painting will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, which runs from 16 June until 18 September 2011.

His striking 5ft x 3.5ft portrait, "Just to Feel Normal", demonstrates a step forward in Ian's painting style. The painting is an enigmatic half-smiling head-and-shoulders study of a friend.

When aked the portrait, Ian commented:

'My painting style has progressed quite dramatically since I last entered the BP Portrait Award in 2009. It’s hard to describe, as you really need to see the painting in life to appreciate the approach I’m now taking. I have been painting these larger-than-life heads for the past year or two, allowing my focus to shift towards the actual painting process and how to
use paint as a material to describe the subject.'

‘The heads are anonymous and hopefully quite ambiguous in terms of narrative, but with enough information for the viewer to construct their own meaning which will be derived from their own life experiences and preconceived stereotypes. So the paintings hopefully fit into a more contemporary art practice rather than the traditional idea of portraiture, which is solely about the sitter; rather, I hope the image will act as a trigger to reveal something about society in a much broader sense.'

KPMG Emerging Artist Award 2010

Ian Cumberland has won the KPMG Emerging Artist Award for the second year in a row, for his painting Trial and Error, at the Royal Ulster Academy's annual exhibition.

The Annual Exhibition comprises work by members of the Academy, invited artists and artists selected through open submission. Work submitted through the open submission process was selected anonymously by a jury. From 1264 works submitted by 759 artists, 142 (11%) were selected bringing the total number of exhibition works to 266. Exhibiting artists include Betty Brown, Diana Copperwhite, Fionnuala D’Arcy, Colin Davidson, David Crone, Ian Cumberland, Terry Gravett, Clement McAleer, Jill McKeown, Simon McWilliams, Gwen O Dowd, Barbara Rae, Neil Shawcross, Paul Seawright, Keith Wilson and many more.

At the official opening of the Annual Exhibition on Thursday 14 October fifteen prize recipients were announced by adjudicator Hughie O Donoghue.

The Royal Ulster Academy’s 129th Annual Exhibition, which aims to highlight the best in contemporary and traditional visual arts practice, sponsored by KPMG, opened to the public on Friday 15 October to 14 November 2010 at the award-winning Ulster Museum, Belfast, continuing a tradition initiated by Arthur Deane, Director of the Ulster Museum, eighty one years ago in 1929.

With the support of KPMG and Belfast City Council, a programme of talks, tours and workshops has been scheduled throughout the exhibition run which will appeal to regular gallery and non-gallery visitors alike.

Admission to the exhibition and participation in all events is free of charge.

Opening Hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm
Ulster Museum, Botanic Gardens, Belfast

Queen's University Commissions Portrait

A new portrait of one of Queen’s most generous benefactors is to hang in the University’s £50 million new library which bears his name.

Northern Ireland-born artist Ian Cumberland’s portrait of the late Sir Allen McClay was unveiled at a special ceremony at which the landmark new building was officially named the McClay Library. The official opening of the building will take place in July.

Sir Allen, the founding Chair of the Queen’s University of Belfast Foundation, personally donated more than £20 million to Queen’s. The McClay Research Centre for Pharmaceutical Sciences in the School of Pharmacy, which bears his name, was funded by The McClay Trust, a charitable body which he established. He also made substantial donations to support research and education in Chemistry and Pharmacy at Queen’s, and to a range of other projects, including the new library and the restoration of the University’s Great Hall.

Illuminated by a multi-storey open atrium, the McClay Library accommodates 2,000 reader places and houses 1.2 million volumes. Ground floor facilities include IT training rooms, a Language Centre, Library and Computer support areas and a cafe. The upper storeys house the University’s Special Collections, subject-related enquiry points and a vast range of printed works.

Pictured at the unveiling are (from left): former Queen’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir George Bain, Lady Heather McClay, artist Ian Cumberland and Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Gregson.

Ian Cumberland Announced as Winner at 2010 Davy Portrait Awards

Davy, Ireland’s leading provider of stockbroking, wealth management and financial advisory services, last night awarded Northern Ireland-based artist Ian Cumberland the 2010 Davy Portrait Award, worth £10,000 at a ceremony in Belfast for his captivating oil on board self portrait.

The awards, in association with Arts & Business, were open to artists working in traditional and non-traditional media across Ireland. The judging panel comprised Rosie Broadley, Associate Curator of Contemporary Collections at the National Portrait Gallery in London and Brenda McParland, a renowned International Curator and Arts Management Professional in Contemporary Visual Arts.

Cumberland describes the winning portrait as ‘A celebration of flaws using the marks and colour of the paint to accurately portray the flesh and bring out all the imperfections that everyone has. From a distance the painting is very realistic, but up close its quite uneven’. Ian studied ‘Fine and Applied Arts’ at University of Ulster and has exhibited at numerous solo and group exhibitions across Ireland and the UK, including Royal Ulster Academy exhibitions and the National Portrait Gallery, London in 2009 as part of the BP Portrait Awards which then toured to the Dean Gallery of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Ian’s ‘Self Portrait’ can be viewed alongside 28 other shortlisted paintings selected from over 300 entries at the 2010 Davy Portrait Awards exhibition which takes place at the Naughton Gallery in Belfast from Friday 26th February 2010, moving to the Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin in April, and then on to Fota House, Cork in July.


Tony Garry, Chief Executive of Davy commented: “Following the huge success of the inaugural Davy Portrait Awards last year, Davy continues to champion innovation and excellence in contemporary portrait painting in Ireland. We are delighted to have received such a strong response again this year and are very pleased to be able to offer a show-case of creative flair and artistic talent. The quality of the submissions is a clear indication of the significance of portrait painting within contemporary visual culture.”

Judge Rosie Broadley of the National Portrait Gallery commented, “Selecting a group of portraits for the Davy Portrait Award exhibition was an exciting and daunting prospect; such was the range and quality of work submitted. Intimate drawings vied for attention with canvases vast and small, each representing the unique relationship that arises between an artist and sitter when a portrait is made. The Davy Portrait Award is a wonderful opportunity for new and established artists from across Ireland to exhibit together and was a privilege to be involved in the process.”

Mary Trainor, Director, Arts & Business Northern Ireland commented: “Arts and Business are delighted to be supporting The Davy Portrait Awards which champion innovation and excellence in contemporary portraiture in Ireland. The vision and true spirit of partnership shown by Davy in making these Awards happen is itself innovative and to be commended.”
For further information and full exhibition details: www.davyportraitawards.com

Local Artist Represents Northern Ireland in BP Portrait Award

Local artist Ian Cumberland has been selected from almost 2,000 entrants to be one of the 56 exhibitors at this year’s BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Ian is the only artist from Northern Ireland who will be exhibiting in this year’s competition. 

At 26 years of age, he is one of the youngest entrants, qualifying for a chance to win the BP Young Artist Award. His striking portrait, “One in Two”, is of Belfast man Jackie Quate. Reacting to the news, Ian said: “I’m delighted to have been selected for this competition, and even more stunned to learn that I’m the only artist from Northern Ireland whose work will be on display this year... It’s a real honour, especially so early in my career.”

The Portrait Award, now in its 30th year at the National Portrait Gallery and 20th year of sponsorship by BP, is a highly successful annual event aimed at encouraging artists to focus upon, and develop, the theme of painted portraiture within their work. In addition to a prize of £25,000, the winner of the BP Portrait Award will receive a commission worth £4,000. The second prize will be £8,000 and third £6,000. For the third year there will also be a BP Young Artist Award of £5,000 for the work of an entrant aged between 18 and 30. Twelve exhibitors, including Ian Cumberland, qualify for this award. The winners of the prizes will be announced on the evening of Tuesday 16 June. 

The portraits will be on display from 18 June – 20 September 2009, before touring galleries in Southampton and Edinburgh.