Salvatore of Lucan (b. 1994) creates large expansive works which explore the themes of home, identity and relationships. “Me Ma Healing” is his third inclusion in the Zurich Portrait Prize. Salvatore of Lucan describes the inspiration for this painting: “My mother practices sound healing and Reiki, and anytime I’m at home and feeling unwell, she offers to practice on me. I am a distant son and can be sceptical about some of the hippy stuff, but when her hands hover above me, I do feel my mother’s love, and am aware that she is trying to heal me. In making the painting I was inspired by the kind of uncanny, suspended feeling one finds in the alchemist paintings of Leonora Carrington.”

As well as a prize of €15,000, Salvatore will receive a commission worth €5,000 to produce a new work for the National Portrait Collection.

Judges for this year’s Zurich Portrait Prize were artist Eamonn Doyle; Róisín Kennedy, art critic and Lecturer/Assistant Professor in the School of Art History & Cultural Policy, UCD; and Seán Kissane, Curator at IMMA. Other high commended winners included Vanessa Jones for self portrait “Cabbage Baby” (pictured below) for which she received €1,500.

Commenting on the judges final selection, Seán Kissane said, “We were delighted to be introduced to so many new artists through this process. The broad spectrum of artistic enquiry encountered here was truly impressive.” Tom McLean also received a highly commended prize of €1,500 for his work “Note to Self”, pictured below.

The winners were also announced for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize. Judges for this prize were visual artist Aideen Barry; artist, art teacher and activist Joe Caslin; and Tadhg Crowley, Senior Curator: Education + Community at the Glucksman. Upon selecting a winner from each age category (ages 6 and under, ages 7-11, ages 12-15, ages 16-18), in addition to an overall winner, Joe Caslin said, “These portraits are a snapshot of a difficult year. Congratulations to all of the artists.”

“Painting in a different world now (My Father the Artist)” by 14-year-old Della Cowper-Gray was selected as the overall winner of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize. As well as a personalised wooden box of art materials, the prize includes a €500 cash prize. In her artist’s statement, Della Cowper-Gray said, “This is a portrait of my father the artist, observing the world around him. It is a different world now since Covid-19 and artists have been greatly affected. I wanted to convey that struggle through his expression. The world has changed and so too has the world of the artist.”

Six-year-old Marianna Krolik won the youngest category with “Mia”, a portrait of her best friend who she can’t see so often since Mia moved to Co Cavan.

In the second category, ten-year-old Ellie Giblin won with her portrait of her grand-aunt Dolores – “My Glamorous Grand-Aunt” – which she created in lockdown when she could not visit.

“Self-Portrait”, a paint on canvas work of an ordinary afternoon by 15-year-old Lijun Ma was the winner of the category for ages 12-15.

Mia Buckley, 17, won the final category with “Tudor”, a portrait investigating the colour, light and shadow that was portrayed across the skin of her model. Each category winner is awarded a personalised box of art materials alongside a prize of €250.

Need to Know: The Zurich Portrait Prize exhibition, featuring the winning portrait alongside 23 other shortlisted works, is now open at the National Gallery of Ireland. It will run until April 3 2022 alongside the Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibition of 20 shortlisted portraits. Both exhibitions will travel to Crawford Art Gallery in Cork in 2022; www.nationalgallery.ie.