Above : Mark booth with Nascent State. Pic Leif Prenzlau
Australian artist Mark Booth yesterday was announced as the winner of the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, coinciding with the opening of the 25th anniversary exhibition at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf in Double Bay, Sydney.
The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize is Australia’s pre-eminent prize for small sculpture and the first national acquisitive prize for an original sculpture of up to 80cm, presented by Woollahra Council. Mark Booth has been awarded the $25,000 award, for his work, Nascent State: (hot pink), which will be acquired for the Council’s permanent public collection, joining previous winners including Bruce Reynolds, Tim Silver, Robert Owen, Yvonne Kendall, Rhonda Sharpe, Mikala Dwyer and Anita Johnson.
Nascent State: (hot pink) is made from 3D-printed material and enamel paint. Consisting of multiple modular components that display a repetition of form and a free-form process of assembly, the sculpture is concerned with illusions of materiality, utilitarianism and industrialisation. The use of bright, monochromatic colour and innovative, synthetic methods of production and application render the sculpture completely artificial. Nascent State: (hot pink) conceptualises transformation – functional materials are reimagined in the context of art, raising questions about value, perception, and the aesthetic potential inherent in industrial forms, inviting the viewer to reconsider everyday objects, not just for their use, but for their deeper symbolic and material significance.
Winning artist Mark Booth commented on the award: “I am deeply grateful and honoured to have been selected as a winner of the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize. This recognition means so much to me—not only as an acknowledgement of the finished work, but also as encouragement to continue exploring, experimenting, and growing as an artist. For me, sculpture is a way of thinking with my hands. It allows ideas, emotions, and memories to take physical form, while the materials and processes of construction often introduce their own unexpected possibilities. I value the slow, tactile process of making: shaping, adjusting, responding, and sometimes allowing the work to lead me somewhere I had not anticipated, where uncertainty can become part of the discovery.”
Since the first exhibition was held in 2001, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize has demonstrated the extraordinary breadth and complexity of contemporary sculpture. No single style, material or approach defines the Prize. Instead, the only constant has been a continuing search for quality, originality and artistic excellence.
Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf Director, Sep Pourbozorgi said: “We’re excited to celebrate 25 years of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize. Since its inception, the Prize has supported both emerging and established artists, providing a platform for new ideas and playing a meaningful role in the development of artists’ careers. That legacy is something we’re incredibly proud of. This year’s finalists reflect the breadth and diversity of contemporary sculpture, from bronze, glass and ceramics to fibre, found materials, 3D-printed works and stone. As we mark this year’s significant milestone, it’s exciting to look ahead and imagine what this year’s artists will go on to achieve, and the role the Prize might play in their journeys.”
Sydney-based Venezuelan-Dutch artist Francheska Coenraads received the Special Commendation Award of $2,000 for Palomo, made from cast iron, sheep wool, plastic, resin and crude oil. Once ridden by liberator Simón Bolívar, the sculpted horse runs across the Venezuelan flag, cut open from neck to back and transformed into a hollow vessel for crude oil — a material that shaped Venezuela’s economy while fuelling corruption, political instability and displacement. Fleeing an abstracted, burning Budare (a traditional Venezuelan cooking plate), the horse echoes a nation escaping dictatorship, gutted of its people and its soul.
Special Commendation Award Winner Francheska Coenraads said: “I would like to thank the judges of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize so much for this Special Commendation Award! It means a lot to have this sculpture recognised, particularly because of what it represents to me, giving me the opportunity to bring visibility to the plight of the Venezuelan people.”
The 2026 judges Emily Sullivan (Curator of Contemporary International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales), Beau Neilson (Arts Leader and Philanthropist) and Tim Silver (Artist and winner of the 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize) selected the winning works from 49 finalists, chosen from 724 local and international entries.
Judge Emily Sullivan said: “We were so impressed by the breadth of works on display and the range of artists from all stages of careers. The winning work, ‘Nascent state (hot pink)’, rises up in a state of becoming, but also of breakdown, proliferation and clinging on. We were drawn to the inherent contrasts within the work, between hard and soft, one and many, machine and organic, and modular and free form. Each choice in the making process — from the use of printing technology to the meticulous hand finish and improvised assembly — seemed to wrestle with questions about technology and how it fits and relates to daily life. We awarded the Highly Commended prize to Paloma, a work that surprised and impressed us for its material experimentation and poetics.”
BJ Kim received the Mayor’s Award for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize for his work do Geese see God?, receiving $1000.
Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson said: “I was captivated by the joyous sense of movement sculptor BJ Kim has created in ‘do Geese see God?’. Inspired by the diving and soaring form of seagulls this sculpture is strong, elegant and full of hope. It’s a clever reminder of our desire for freedom and humanity’s enduring questions about a greater power.”
Mayor’s Award Winner BJ Kim said: “I’m incredibly honoured and grateful to receive the Mayor’s Choice Award. It’s a career highlight and will encourage me to pursue my practice with renewed energy. My sincere thanks to Mayor Dixson for her selection, and to Woollahra Council and the great team at Woollahra Gallery for their ongoing commitment to this important and inspiring prize. Congratulations to all the finalists: it’s a privilege to exhibit alongside such talented artists. I’m also grateful to my teacher, the late Tom Bass, and the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School community for creating a unique and nurturing space that makes works like mine possible. Finally, heartfelt thanks to my partner, son and extended family for their love, patience and support.”
The Viewers’ Choice Award will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition with the winner to receive $1000.
The finalists’ works will be on display at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf in an exhibition running from 2 October to 29 November 2026. Admission is free and the gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
The 2026 judges Emily Sullivan (Curator of Contemporary International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales), Beau Neilson (Arts Leader and Philanthropist) and Tim Silver (Artist and winner of the 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize) selected the winning works from 49 finalists, chosen from 724 local and international entries.
Judge Emily Sullivan said: “We were so impressed by the breadth of works on display and the range of artists from all stages of careers. The winning work, ‘Nascent state (hot pink)’, rises up in a state of becoming, but also of breakdown, proliferation and clinging on. We were drawn to the inherent contrasts within the work, between hard and soft, one and many, machine and organic, and modular and free form. Each choice in the making process — from the use of printing technology to the meticulous hand finish and improvised assembly — seemed to wrestle with questions about technology and how it fits and relates to daily life. We awarded the Highly Commended prize to Paloma, a work that surprised and impressed us for its material experimentation and poetics.”
BJ Kim received the Mayor’s Award for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize for his work do Geese see God?, receiving $1000.
Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson said: “I was captivated by the joyous sense of movement sculptor BJ Kim has created in ‘do Geese see God?’. Inspired by the diving and soaring form of seagulls this sculpture is strong, elegant and full of hope. It’s a clever reminder of our desire for freedom and humanity’s enduring questions about a greater power.”
Mayor’s Award Winner BJ Kim said: “I’m incredibly honoured and grateful to receive the Mayor’s Choice Award. It’s a career highlight and will encourage me to pursue my practice with renewed energy. My sincere thanks to Mayor Dixson for her selection, and to Woollahra Council and the great team at Woollahra Gallery for their ongoing commitment to this important and inspiring prize. Congratulations to all the finalists: it’s a privilege to exhibit alongside such talented artists. I’m also grateful to my teacher, the late Tom Bass, and the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School community for creating a unique and nurturing space that makes works like mine possible. Finally, heartfelt thanks to my partner, son and extended family for their love, patience and support.”
The Viewers’ Choice Award will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition with the winner to receive $1000.
The finalists’ works will be on display at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf in an exhibition running from 2 October to 29 November 2026. Admission is free and the gallery is open from Wednesday to Sunday.
