Celebrating creative excellence across Australia’s contemporary art landscape, the Clayton Utz Art Award showcases an exceptional selection of national finalists whose works explore the richness, diversity, and imagination of Australian visual art.
The 2025 winner, Francesca Owen, received the major award for her work The Banya (Fine Art Print, 125 × 85 cm), praised by the judging panel for its emotional depth and poetic stillness. Drawing on her background as an Olympic-level synchronised swimmer, Owen transforms the meditative act of immersion into a space of reflection and devotion — a contemporary echo of Fra Angelico’s spiritual interiority.
The People’s Choice Award was presented to Todd Simpson for Lover’s Caress (Acrylic on Aluminium, 61 × 61 cm), while the finalist exhibition features a dynamic range of established and emerging artists including Henri van Noordenburg, Lori Pensini, Nick Olsen, Samuel Scoufos, Rosie Lloyd-Giblett, and Tim Grey, whose Waiting for Smart (Oil on canvas, 61 × 122 cm) exemplifies the thoughtful materiality that defines this year’s show.
Held within the Clayton Utz offices at Riparian Plaza and coordinated by Lethbridge Gallery, the exhibition runs from 6 October 2025 to 2 October 2026, available for private viewing by appointment.
