Western Australian artist Abdul Abdullah has won the 2025 Packing Room Prize at the Art Galley of New South Wales’ Archibald Prize.
His portrait is of best friend and fellow artist Jason Phu, who is depicted riding a horse. Phu is also a finalist in this year’s awards with his own portrait of actor Hugo Weaving.
Abdullah, who grew up in Perth, but is now based in Thailand, said he speaks to Phu every day. “We talk on the phone every day, he was the best man at my wedding, and we have travelled together.” he says of their friendship.
The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, it asks that the subject be some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, and it must be painted by an artist who is a resident in Australia.
This year saw 57 entries selected for the exhibition from the 903 that were entered. The competition is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and it began in 1921 thanks to a bequest from Jules Francois Archibald who was the editor of The Bulletin magazine. The winning entry receives $100,000 in prize money.
As always, there are many famous faces among the contenders, and some creatively boundary breaking works too.
Sydney Barrister Sue Chrysanthou has become a familiar face on nightly news bulletins across Australia. Last yeaR Crysanthou represented Victoria Liberal MP in her successful defamation action against then Liberal leader John Pesuto, and has previously appeared in court in many other high profile defamation cases. Artist Peter Wegner chose Chrysanthou as his subject after intently watching her on a live stream of court proceedings.
Solomon Kammer has submitted a bold and revealing portrait of artist Kim Leutwyler. “Kim and I have been friends for years and I visit them on every work trip to Sydney,” the Adelaide-based said of their friendship. ‘We met earlier this year. Between this meeting and the last, Kim had undergone gender-affirming surgery, and it was immediately evident that this external transformation had effected an internal realignment and comfort I had never seen before. It was beautiful to behold, but the joy of living more authentically has come with a sharpened awareness of how differently the world responds. Visibility, while empowering, can also elicit a new kind of hostility,” he said of the portrait he painted.
Queer artist Shan Turner-Carroll has been colourfully captured by Catherine McGuiness. She’s captured her friend in a mermaid dress that they designed together. At their joint exhibition McGuiness wore the dress, but now she’s painted Turner-Carroll wearing it. “I wore it at the exhibition. He was my handsome prince and I was the little mermaid. Now, he is a little mermaid too.” she said.
Yolande Gray’s portrait of Fremantle based ceramic artist Pippin Drysadale is titled “I won;t wish, I will”. The Sydney based artist travelled to Perth for a week in January 2024 making sketches and taking photos of the acclaimed artist whose work spans three decades.
Fiona Lowry painted fellow artist Ken Done. While Done’s work is famous for it’s bright colours and bold lines, Lowry has depicted him in muted tones of blue. She previously won the competition in 2014 with a portrait of architect Penelope Seidler.
Jackie Henderson, best known as radio’s Jackie O, has been painted by Kelly Maree. When the artist approached the radio star to see if she be interested in sitting for a portrait she was pleasantly surprised to find that Henderson was a huge fan of the portrait she did last year of actor John Heuston.
Marcus Wills portrait is titled Cormac in Arcadia and it’s a little different to most. His subject is young actor Cormac Wright who appeared in the 2022 film The stranger , directed by his father Thomas M Wright. The scene is a depiction of Greek mythology where King Lycaon of Arcadia tests Zeus’s divinity by serving him the flesh of his son Nyctimus. Young Cormac appears twice in the work, he’s the boy in the hoodie with his back to the viewer, but he’s also looking on at the action from the right-hand side.
Author Kathy Lette has been painted by Sally Ryan. Novels written by Lette, including her famous debut Puberty Blues, are stacked up in her red striped bag, while a man hangs from her martini glass, is it anyone we know?
Chris O’Doherty, also known as Reg Mobmassa from Aussie band Mental as Anything, has made the grade with a self-portrait created during an extended stay in hospital. It’s the second time he’s been included in the short list with a self-portrait.
Meagan Pelham’s offering is titled Magic Nikki and Charlie Fancy Pants Party…DJaaaaaaaay. It captures Nikita Majajas who is a designer and jeweller, while her wife Charlie Villas is a DJ.
The winner of the Archibald Prize will be announced on 9th May and the finalists will be on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 10th May until 17th August.
See all this year’s paintings and dive into the winners from previous years.
