We are thrilled to share that artist Gene A’Hern has been awarded the prestigious Sir John Sulman Prize 2025 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales for his work Sky painting.
Selected from a record 732 entries, Sky painting is a bold and immersive piece inspired by A’Hern’s deep connection to the Blue Mountains, where he lives and works. Using oil and oil stick on board, the 240 x 240cm painting bursts with gestural energy, expansive movement, and rich colour, reflecting the rhythms and sensations of the natural world.
“This painting unfolded as I immersed myself in skywatching,” said A’Hern. “It draws on memories of birds singing, branches sighing, and sunsets falling — a living landscape that I breathe with and through.”
The 2025 Sulman Prize was judged by Sydney artist Elizabeth Pulie, who praised the work for its “unselfconscious dedication to line and colour” and its “almost excessive celebration of the materiality of paint.”
A’Hern’s Sky painting is on display alongside all Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2025 finalists at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, from 10 May to 17 August 2025.
Congratulations to Gene A’Hern on this outstanding recognition!