The Discerning Eye received more than 6,800 entries from artists across the UK. From these, a record 750+ works by more than 550 artists were chosen by six independent selectors, making this the largest exhibition in the Discerning Eye’s history. The works span painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, print, textile, film and everything in between.
This year’s selectors are actor and collector Hugh Bonneville, artist Kelvin Okafor, artist and scientist Jasmine Pradissitto, collector Jon Sharples, arts editor Martin Robinson, and art market writer and critic Melanie Gerlis.
“I defy anyone to come and not find something they like,” said selector Hugh Bonneville as he surveyed over 100 of his selected works at London’s Mall Galleries. “I only came across Discerning Eye this time last year when I went to the exhibition and was absolutely enthralled by it.”
For collector Jon Sharples, the anonymity of the selection was revelatory: “Everything is anonymised, so we have no idea whether an artist is a seasoned veteran or has never exhibited before. The scale means that everything is compressed. Things can be small and still epic.”
Artist and scientist Jasmine Pradissitto values the access the show provides: “It’s open to absolutely everyone. White gallery spaces can be a little like going into church, a bit scary. This exhibition takes the fear out of it.”
And according to columnist Melanie Gerlis: “You need to come and see this exhibition. It is a totally remarkable showcase of contemporary artists working today”
On Thursday 12 November, educational charity Discerning Eye announced the prize winners: 16 outstanding artists who received more than £12,000 in total. Prizes will be awarded at 6:30pm on Thursday evening.
Olivia Arts, Kavinya, 2026, oil on canvas, 45 x 50 x 5 cm
The Discerning Eye Founder’s Prize, worth £2,500 and honouring the charity’s founder Michael Reynolds, went to Olivia Arts for Kavinya , selected by renowned portrait artist Kelvin Okafor.
According to Discerning Eye Chair Sarah Hall “It was a unanimous decision that this work encapsulated the ethos of what Discerning Eye is about, and we simply had to select it as the Founder’s Prize”
Hampshire-born, Florence-based Olivia Arts trained at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, an atelier known for teaching the classical methods of the Old Masters, and she now teaches there herself.
Sally Fitchard, Local Casting (Soke-on-Trent), ceramic and wood, 13 x 47 x 42 cm
The Discerning Eye Chair’s Purchase Prize, worth £1,000, was awarded to Sally Fitchard for Local Casting (Stoke-on-Trent) , a ceramic and wood sculpture selected by Hugh Bonneville.
Fitchard is a figurative ceramic sculptor working from her studio in Newcastle-under-Lyme, on the edge of the Potteries. Her fascination with people comes from a childhood habit of people-watching.
Discerning Eye Chair Sarah Hall said she ” decided to buy a 3D work and it was a really hard choice. This made me laugh, think, and I can so visualise it in my home”.