Tina Jenkins wins Threadneedle Prize

Art at Reading’s Tina Jenkins has been announced winner of the 2014 Threadneedle Prize, one of the most prestigious art prizes in the UK awarded annually for figurative and representational art.

Tina receives £20,000 plus a solo exhibition for a wider body of her work in 2015.

Tina’s work will be exhibited alongside 63 other paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints selected for the 2014 edition of the Prize, open between 25 September and 11 October 2014 at Mall Galleries, London.

Jenkins is no stranger to winning prizes. She was runner up in the Marmite Painting Prize in 2010, was awarded the Owen Ridley Prize at the University of Reading for a MFA project and is the recipient of a bursary from Reading University to research her PhD in 2014. Her work encapsulates the focus of The Threadneedle Prize exhibition on Figurative Art Today.

Whitney Hintz, one of this year’s four selectors, said: “There was a wide range of submissions but this year’s Threadneedle Prize winner stood out immediately. Tina Jenkins’ ‘Bed Head’ was one of the first works we saw on selection day and, after viewing over 3,600 submissions, it was the first work that we returned to. Her bold approach to the human form and her clever use of material impressed the judges. I look forward to seeing more of Tina’s work in the future.”

“We’re already looking forward to exhibiting a larger number of Tina’s paintings in a solo exhibition of her work at Mall Galleries, next year,” adds Lewis McNaught, Director of Mall Galleries. “The striking nature of her imagery delivers an extraordinary visual impact and will make a strong impression on visitors to her solo exhibition” (30 March to 11 April 2015).

Alison Jefferis, Head of Corporate Communications, Threadneedle Investments said “Threadneedle is proud to support the Threadneedle Prize, and the work of exciting artists like Tina Jenkins and all those who contributed to this year’s exhibition. The Threadneedle Prize entered a new era this year, with the addition of the Curated Space. The Prize began as a collaboration between Threadneedle and Mall Galleries in 2008, and it continues to grow ever stronger. We look forward to Tina Jenkins solo show at Mall Galleries, an important initiative that reflects our commitment to supporting a vibrant arts sector in the UK.”