A University of Salford graduate has been nominated for the prestigious Liverpool Art Prize.
Richard Proffitt graduated from the University of Salford in 2007 with a degree in Visual Arts. He is now a successful installation artist living and working in Liverpool and has had exhibitions in Helsinki and Berlin as well as Liverpool, London and Manchester.
His work is inspired by many things including teenage idols, ghost towns, post-apocalyptic sci-fi films, classroom humour and childhood memory. All these aspects become intertwined making his work funny, dark and mysterious.
Richard said: “To be shortlisted is great. It’s nice to get some recognition for the work I showed throughout last year. It’s been great to use the space at Metal too, it’s very atmospheric and has a lot of history attached to it. I think the other three shortlisted artists are really good, strong artists. There’s a good variety present.”
The Liverpool art prize is an annual award and exhibition for outstanding cutting-edge artists in the Liverpool city area. Sixty artists were considered and Richard is one of four artists shortlisted for the £2000 prize. The winning artist will also be given the opportunity to show their work at the Walker Art Gallery.
He has this advice for students: “One of the most important things to do while at art school would be to go out and visit as many galleries, museums, studios as you can. I think that travelling to places and seeing things is the best thing to do to get ideas going.
“I also think it’s important for art students to get involved with what’s going on locally - it’s good to know what happens after you finish your degree, where artists go, how they support themselves. The only way to find this out is to be involved. “
All work will be exhibited at Metal in Edge Hill station from until 11 June, with the awards ceremony being held on Wednesday, 1 June.
More information can also be found at www.liverpoolartprize.com.
