It didn't stand out at first, but the Archibald Prize winner suits the times

Sydney Morning Herald

09-05-2025

Amid an epic mishmash of styles in this year's Archibald Prize, the judges have crowned the feminine and the cosmic in painter Julie Fragar's sepia-toned portrait of sculptor Justene Williams.
In this large oil on canvas, Williams floats through space in a coarsely stitched stripey dress suggestive of a refashioned prison uniform. Barefoot, arms extended, she drifts among shooting stars and ethereal figures swirling in the darkness beyond.
Untethered by gravity, Williams soars above the flotsam of a throwaway world, while mannequins (or possibly bots), TV antennas, turn-of-the-century birdcages, spindly wagon wheels, pine furnishings and metallic offcuts cling to the earth below.
The portrait by the Sydney-trained Brisbane artist of a little-known sitter didn't initially resonate with those of us granted an early look at the exhibition. The judges opted for Fragar's abundant mixed messaging over the mastery of Natasha Bieniek's Cressida Campbell, the raw emotion of Chris O'Doherty's self-portrait, and even the fun Jason Phu had with Hugo Weaving.
However, it's easy to see its appeal to the trustees tasked with the unenviable job of choosing a winner from hundreds of open submissions.
In a moment marked by global conflict, an untethered US president, artistic censorship by the very institutions meant to protect expression and the relentless encroachment of AI on creative livelihoods, perhaps only a gloriously bonkers painting wherein the feminine defiantly triumphs will do. Amen to that.
Beyond the media frenzy of the Archibald, there is genuine delight to be found in this year's Wynne Prize, Australia's longest-running art prize, where during the past decade, Aboriginal artworks have increasingly come to the fore.
This year's winner is Jude Rae, with an exceptional vertical landscape of Botany Bay's container terminal at pre-dawn, as seen from the artist's fourth-floor apartment on Redfern hill.