Actor and author Bill Paterson with Adam Kennedy. Bill presented the last ever Aspect Prize (worth £15k) to Adam last night at The Fleming Collection's gallery in Mayfair, London
The Kennedy family are a talented clan. Last year Paul Kennedy was a finalist in the Aspect Prize, and last night, his younger brother Adam was announced as the last-ever winner of this prestigious prize for Scottish painters.
Both Adam and Paul were asked to produce work for the River Runs Through It exhibition which is currently running at Kelvingrove. It was co-curated and organised by the artist Charles Jamieson and myself. Charlie is a generous spirited creative who is keen that Scotland's talented artists are seen and heard. Not only that - as his work on show at Kelvingrove shows - he can walk the walk and talk the talk.
We should have known something about Adam's work touched a chord when every single one of Adam's paintings on show at Kelvingrove sold within days.
If you can't make it to London to see the Aspect Prize Finalists' exhibition at The Fleming Collection in Mayfair (it's on all this week) then take a trip to Kelvingrove if you can to see work by some of Scotland's finest painters.
The great thing about prizes like the Aspect is that it provides a springboard for all the artists who are selected as finalists. Many of the artists participating in The River Runs Through It, such as Liz Knox, Sue Biazotti, Katie Pope, Mike Clark, Patricia Cain, Colin Brown and the Kennedy brothers, are all Aspect alumni. Talent doesn't always get noticed, but prizes like the Aspect play a role in allowing it to rise to the top.
So the Aspect Prize may have gone, but Charlie Jamieson and I are trying our best to allow a new one to rise phoenix-like from the ashes.
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