Contemporary Painting:
Aesthetica Art Prize 2021

From figurative to abstract, photorealistic to surreal, discover five works from the 2021 prize – showcasing innovative ideas and technical skill.

Evoking the Past

Myths have captivated audiences for millennia. But what is their relevance in today’s world? Mazzi Francesco is inspired by the ancient world.

Youth Rising

Youth Rising in the UK 1981-2021 brings together photographs which offer a window on scenes of romance, empathy, protest and pain.

Reframed Moments

Swiss photographer Ernst A. Heiniger presented familiar objects and scenes anew – observing the world from innovative, unpredictable perspectives.

Moments Distilled

Nick Prideaux’s images distil moments of beauty from the everyday – from sun drenched scenery and seascapes to legs tangled up in sheets.

Lost Cityscape

Brian Lomas’ Small Shops invites us on a tour of a lost cityscape: a world of hand-daubed signage, antique cash registers and family-run businesses.

Art and Landscape:
Aesthetica Art Prize 2021

Never has it been more important to consider our relationship with the natural world. Artists from our 2021 longlist bring the landscape into focus.

Cultural Reflection

Graphic designer Yuliya Pylypko has crafted a publication aimed at involving a young Ukrainian audience in artistic heritage.

A Frozen Narrative

Elmgreen & Dragset’s new installation asks more questions than it answers, as part of Copenhagen Contemporary’s exhibition The Art of Sport.

Growth and Acceptance

Butterflies encircle faces. Orange balloons float in mid-air. Deep blue leaves engulf bodies. Fares Micue is a self-taught conceptual photographer.

Visual Oxymorons

Christopher Thomas captures merry-go-rounds, ice cream cones, bubble gum machines, circus tents and ferris wheels within desolate landscapes.

Cultural Iconography

Namsa Leuba is a Swiss-Guinean photographer and art director who focuses on African identity as seen through the western gaze.

Disparate Geographies

Massimo Colonna is an Italian photographer, post-producer and retoucher who invents spaces that play with a sense of reality.

Piecing it Together

Karen Navarro calls upon photography, collage and sculpture to investigate the concepts of race, gender and belonging, and how they converge.

Playful Camouflage

Gerwyn Davies is an Australian photographer who makes images that empower and conceal, combining hand-made costumes and edits.

Mapping the Climate

Richard Mosse uses new imaging methods to recontextualise ecological catastrophe. His latest project looks at destruction in the Amazon.

Hybrid Architecture

Santa Fe is a creative hotbed, mixing contemporary modernism with adobe tradition, recalibrating connections to the landscape.

Complex Narratives

Photographs relay information for the viewer, but what happens to the truth in the process? 10 new photographers work with these questions.

Across the Nation

Hawkesworth’s latest project, shot over 13 years, offers a glimpse of Britain and its diversity, a celebration of photography without borders.

Modes of Fabrication

Artists have long sought inspiration in found photos. We consider the ethical implications of collage in an age of visual abundance.