James Rogers and his sculpture Turning Light has won first prize in the Wollombi Valley Sculpture Festival.
Rogers, of Walcha, collects $25,000 for first prize.
He describes the winning piece as "a composition of hand cut strips of steel pipe that continues a body of work where space, structure and subject are in arrested movement, seeking to invoke a unified state of fluid grace. The picture is not visible, just the ride".
Turning Light is on display at Undercliff Winery, 152 Yango Creek Road, Wollombi. It is priced at $50,000.
The festival's winners were announced at the festival opening on Saturday. The 153 sculptures chosen as finalists are on display and for sale in six galleries, two wineries and throughout the Wollombi Valley until September 25.
The Governor's Prize was won by Ron Robertson-Swann of Botany with his piece, Nijinsky.
The Governor's Prize was initiated after Her Excellency Margaret Beazley visited the 2020 exhibition and subsequently accepted an invitation to become Patron of the festival.
For the next year, Robertson-Swann's winning sculpture will join four other works by NSW artists proudly participating in Sculptures@theHouse in the grounds of Government House, offering valuable exposure and provenance.
Other prize winners included:
David Ball, Indoor Prize ($7000), for Percussion.
Koichi Ishino, Highly Commended, for wind - stone.
Elly Buckley, Emerging Artist Prize ($2000 plus Newcastle Art Gallery mentorship), for Make your Mark.
Paul Selwood, 2325 Local Artist Indoor Prize ($1000), for Sifnos Church.
Akira Kamada, Artist in Residency Prize ($1000 in kind), for Birth.
Jack Lang, Young Artist Prize ($250 vouchers), for Bonnie in the Ball Pit.
This year the festival celebrates 20 years, as it has gained new energy and status. Significant prize money and a strong record of artwork sales has seen its reputation within the art community and wider audience grow considerably.
The catalogue of all finalists and the location where they are displayed, and the sale price of artworks can be viewed online at sculptureinthevineyards.com.au
