Young Kildare artist wins Zurich Young Portrait Prize

Ross McHale, age 17 and from Kildare, has been announced, at an awards ceremony on 6 December 2022, as a winner in the Zurich Young Portrait Prize 2022.  

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 2022 - an oil painting on canvas -  won the category for ages 16-18 years. The Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibitions opened on Saturday 26 November 2022 at the National Gallery of Ireland.  From hundreds of entries, the shortlists of this year’s Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize are on display in the Portrait Gallery.

Twenty-six artists, working across a variety of media, made it through to the final stage of the Zurich Portrait Prize, while 20 young artists aged between four and eighteen years old were shortlisted for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize. Ross is one of 2 youn Kildare artists who made the shortlist, along with Red Redican for his watercolour and pen work, Bailey’s Life Is A Highway.

Ross McHale said “I chose to name this self-portrait after James Joyce’s novel as I was struck by its relatability, even after over a hundred years. The focus of my portrait is on my face as it turns away from the cold light into the warm; it looks away from the viewer, focused on something else. This is to represent the artist’s decision to turn away from a safer life in favour of the unknown world of their dreams.”