Congratulations to Adam Lee (third from left), winner of the National Works on Paper 2026 $20,000 Major Acquisitive Award for his work You are the wind, I am the song, 2025, watercolour and ink on paper. Pictured with NWOP 2026 judges (L to R) Teho Ropeyarn, Raymond Arnold, Rebecca Owens and Anne Ryan. Photo: Kinfolk Imagery.
Artist statement: ‘You are the wind, I am the song takes its title from the final line of a poem I wrote following the deaths of three friends. These words act as a prayer, navigating the cataclysm of grief, as well as a lament at the fragility of our ever-changing relationship to a world under threat. Angelic faces, borrowed from fragments of Goya’s domed San Antonio cupola fresco in Madrid, float like apparitions; their song, a river sung between their lips, carries a series of searching eyes. A guardian figure stands watch over a child, enfolding her wings like a covering. This work acts as a dirge being sung over what we can no longer hold onto and a paean rising out of the remains of what was, as new things take root and break ground, like a softly hummed psalter akin to a gentle wind.’
Judges’ comments: ‘The judges were struck by the technical assurance and ambitious scale of this work – watercolour is a notoriously difficult medium to control, yet here it is handled with elegance and responsiveness across a large, dynamic composition. Its sombre palette and intricate, interconnected elements draw the eye in slowly, capturing the depth and complexity of grief while offering glimmers of gold and hope. Though rooted in a deeply personal experience of loss, the work speaks to something universal, connecting us across time with all who have loved and lost.’
Congratulations also to Emma Bingham, winner of the National Works on Paper 2026 Emerging Artist Award for her work Holding pattern.
Artist statement: ‘This work evolved during moments of pause and uncertainty in my daily studio practice. Turning the paper within the ‘holding’ space of my arms, I rub charcoal into its surface and then erase it. Turn, rub, turn, rub—a circle emerges through the repetition of gesture and layering of pigment residue. The combined aspects of my life are deeply interwoven with my art practice. I work incrementally, between different materials and projects concurrently, often with just the smallest shifts and adjustments at a time, using gestures held in memory within my body. As a nurse, mother and daughter many of these gestures are of care and holding.
Holding pattern holds me in my studio space. Its physical process of repetition and reflection becomes generative. Subtle shifts occur in the small intervening spaces, directing my next move and deepening the understanding of my practice.’
Judges’ comments: ‘Working daily at her desk in a diaristic, almost meditative practice, the artist has created a body of work that pulses with an intimate, corporeal energy – each individually rendered piece luscious and beautiful in its own right, yet together forming a kinetic whole. The grid structure conjures a sense of infinite time, echoing both the rhythm of the body and the vast cycles of the natural world, from lunar halos to the pulse of a heartbeat. It is a work the judges felt as much as saw, and one that rewards close, physical viewing.’
National Works on Paper
For more than 50 years, National Works on Paper has championed artistic excellence and innovation, celebrating the endless creative possibilities of paper. Recognised as one of Australia’s most prestigious art awards and exhibitions, the biennial event has a proud legacy of discovering, supporting and showcasing outstanding contemporary artists from around the country.
The 2026 exhibition brings together 68 finalists selected from 935 artist submissions, showcasing works by established and emerging practitioners spanning drawing, printmaking, collage, sculpture and innovative paper-based practices.
The 2026 finalists were selected by an esteemed judging panel comprising Anne Ryan, Curator of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales; Teho Ropeyarn, artist and 2022 National Works on Paper finalist; Raymond Arnold, artist and 2018 National Works on Paper finalist; and Rebecca Owens, Curatorial Lead at Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.
Winners were announced at the launch event on Friday 4 September.
2026 Finalists:
Samara ADAMSON-PINCZEWSKI, Daniel AGDAG, Kim ANDERSON, Caleb ARCIFA, Lyn ASHBY, Karike ASHWORTH, Lorraine BIGGS, Emma BINGHAM, Katrina BODEY, Kieran BOLAND, Jack BUCKLEY, Jon CAMPBELL, Jon CATTAPAN, Joshua CHARADIA, Jacky CHENG, Matthew CLARKE, Renato COLANGELO, Sal COOPER, Lesley DUXBURY, Sarah DUYSHART, Nathanael EDWARDS, Louise FORTHUN, Belinda FOX, Grace GLADDISH, Liberté GRACE, Robert HAGUE, Kyoko HASHIMOTO, Euan HENG, Kyoko IMAZU, Eamonn JACKSON, Winsome JOBLING, Locust JONES, Solomon KAMMER, Martin KING, Margie KRISTOFICH, Jenna LEE, Adam LEE, Jade LEES-PAVEY, Francis MACINDOE, Sara MAHER, Dennis McCART, Lisa MICHL, Tony MIGHELL, Jennifer MILLS & Darcy LUKER, Daphne MOHAJER VA PESARAN, Kent MORRIS, Munuy’nu MARIKA, Marrnyula MUNUŊGURR, Wanapa MUNUŊGURR, Jenny NOONE, Jordan O’CONNOR, Julie POULSEN, Ryan PRESLEY, Isobel RAYSON, Alethea RICHTER, Brian ROBINSON, r e a, Kurt SCHRANZER, Sandra SELIG, Sarah THORNTON-SMITH, Zoë VENESS, Lois WATERS, Lydia WEGNER, Rosie WEISS, Paul WHITE, Jo WILLIAMS, Neil WILLIAMS, Jud WIMHURST
Image credit: Adam Lee (third from left), You are the wind, I am the song, 2025, watercolour and ink on paper. Pictured with NWOP 2026 judges (L to R) Teho Ropeyarn, Raymond Arnold, Rebecca Owens and Anne Ryan. Photo: Kinfolk Imagery.
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