LONDON.- An exciting, new contemporary artwork by up-and-coming artist, Alex Knell, has polled thousands of votes from the public to win an innovative online art competition run jointly by the
Royal Academy Schools and international real estate company,
Hines.
Knell’s winning piece We Are Our Future is being unveiled today, Thursday 19 March, as part of the launch of the One Grafton Street Urban Gallery –a super-sized canvas measuring 19m x 43m. The canvas stretches across the face of One Grafton Street, a building currently being developed by Hines in London’s Mayfair.
The street exhibition, currently the largest in London, includes the work of the 12 other talented Royal Academy Schools students and former students who were finalists in the online competition. It provides an unusual and very prominent platform for the Royal Academy Schools students to profile their work in central London.
The Urban Gallery is the first expression of Hines’ One Spirit Showcase project, which is intended as a series of collaborations with arts and cultural organisations. One Spirit Showcase continues Hines’ long-standing commitment to art in general, and to the principle of public art as a key feature of property development.
Following the public vote, a distinguished selection panel of highly regarded contemporary art professionals including Maurice Cockrill, RA; Michael Petry, Curator, Royal Academy Schools Gallery; Gerald Hines; Kay Saatchi; JJ Charlesworth; John Hoyland, RA; Mark Davy, Futurecity and Eliza Bonham-Carter, Curator, RA Schools endorsed the decision.
Peter Holden, Director, Hines UK, commented, “We are thrilled by the public’s response to this online competition and for choosing We Are Our Only Future by Alex Knell as the winning work. Hines is known for its innovative approach of working closely with both artists and architects all over the world, and this competition was a wonderful opportunity to support and promote the next generation of talented artists from the Royal Academy Schools. We look forward to developing further projects in our UK portfolio under the One Spirit Showcase banner.”
Professor Maurice Cockrill RA, The Keeper of the Royal Academy of Arts, commented, “This competition was a wonderful opportunity for our students to engage directly with the public as well as collaborate with Hines, who have a formidable history of working with artists. The sheer size of the urban gallery is a fantastic platform to show the wider public the creative originality produced by students at the Royal Academy Schools, and we hope that this wrap will inspire and delight all who see it.”
Royal Academy Schools students participated in the project by submitting their works to be part of the Urban Gallery. The project has been coordinated by Michael Petry, Curator, Royal Academy Schools Gallery and managed by cultural consultants Futurecity and brand developers Sectorlight.
