Muia selected for Benalla Nude Art Prize 2014

Antony, is in the nude!

Congratulations to Art Collective member Anthony Muia who is a finalist in the 2014 Benalla Nude Art Prize, a new $50,000 acquisitive prize, with his work ‘Stockpile’. This work was exhibited at Art Collective WA in September 2013.

The Benalla Art Gallery's Nude Prize celebrates the naked human figure depicted in oil, acrylic, watercolour or mixed media by an Australian citizen or resident. The inaugural competition attracted 650 entries from all states and from both emerging and established artists, with 32 artists selected - Antony is one.

The catalogue description for Antony's work:

Two naked men walk arm in arm towards me - their skin is worn with holes. ‘If people were meant to be naked they would have been born this way’-Oscar Wilde.

A ‘Stockpile’ is a man made accumulation held in reserve for times of shortage or emergency - these materials represent the progress of society and the individual.

Muia makes drawings about relationships – he is interested in depicting human defect as the norm, and uses distortion to provoke an intimate, almost voyeuristic narrative with the audience.

He portrays the human body as a generic vessel prone to decline and decay. The characters belong to a poor culture filled with extraverts and his works explore the human condition in relation to wellness, social order and carnal desires.'