Despard Gallery would like to congratulate established artist Paul Snell and Rodney Pople, who have both been sleeted as finalists in the 2026 Glover Prize. This includes taking their own personal inspiration form distinctive qualities that make up the Tasmanian landscape and using paint to share a unique perspective or concern.
Snell’s selected artwork is part of his Flux Series [chromogenic print mounted on plexiglas, polystyrene, concrete, acrylic, enamel & pigments 190 x 14 x 8 cm] which contrasts a flawless surface of merging colours sitting atop of an extrusion of regolith, where the precision of its fabricated digital-based face is juxtaposed against the raw and organic. His work explores how we experience space and the manmade and natural elements shape our environment.
Pople’s practice aims to challenge societal norms by deliberately including provocative imagery or providing a candid assessment on political subjects, such as Hobart’s new proposed stadium. He describes his artworks as trying to break down the façade of a politically correct society, using a blending of fact and fiction to expose something that lies beneath the surface. Though his use if photo-media and over painted surfaces, Pople begins to distort and blur reality, as if our social order is on the verge of collapse.
The annual acquisitive award, with a prize money of $75,000 celebrates the legacy of colonial artist John Glover and is judged on the best contemporary landscape painting inspired by Tasmanian. Defined in its broadest sense, each painting must aim is to stimulate conversations about the definition and possibilities expressed in our understanding of what contemporary landscape painting means to Tasmania, its culture and people.
The winning artist will be announced at the opening night and finalist exhibition on Friday 6 March, held in the historic town of Evandale. The finalist’s exhibition will be on display from Saturday 7 to Sunday 15 March 2026.