Mark Booth wins the 25th Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize
Published on 01 October 2026
Nascent State: (hot pink), By: Mark Booth, Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Winner, Photo by: Leif Prenzlau
Exhibition Now Open
The 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition, featuring works by all 49 finalists, is on display at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf from 2 October to 29 November 2026.
What: 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Exhibition
Where: Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, 548 New South Head Road, Double Bay
When: 2 October to 29 November 2026
Cost: Free
Vote for the Viewers' Choice Award
Voting for the $1,000 non-acquisitive Viewers' Choice Award is open now until 11.59pm on Sunday 29 November 2026, giving members of the public the opportunity to vote for their favourite sculpture via the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf website.
The Viewers’ Choice Award will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.
Vote Now!
Public Programs
Across the exhibition period, the Gallery will present a vibrant and inclusive program designed to engage families, art lovers, artists, and audiences with diverse access needs. Highlights include hands-on sculpture and creative workshops with exhibiting artists, tailored for both children and adults, as well as regular guided tours - led by Gallery staff, curators, and finalists - offering unique insights into the works on display.
5 Result(s) Found
Australian artist Mark Booth has today been announced as the winner of the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, coinciding with the opening of the 25th anniversary exhibition at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf in Double Bay, Sydney.
The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize is Australia's pre-eminent prize for small sculpture and the first national acquisitive prize for an original sculpture of up to 80cm, presented by Woollahra Council. Mark Booth has been awarded the $25,000 award, for his work, Nascent State: (hot pink), which will be acquired for the Council's permanent public collection, joining previous winners including Bruce Reynolds, Tim Silver, Robert Owen, Yvonne Kendall, Rhonda Sharpe, Mikala Dwyer and Anita Johnson.
Prize Winners
Nascent State: (hot pink), By: Mark Booth, Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Winner, Photo by: Jessica Maurer
Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2026, $25,000
Nascent State: (hot pink) is made from 3D-printed material and enamel paint. Consisting of multiple modular components that display a repetition of form and a free-form process of assembly, the sculpture is concerned with illusions of materiality, utilitarianism and industrialisation. The use of bright, monochromatic colour and innovative, synthetic methods of production and application render the sculpture completely artificial. Nascent State: (hot pink) conceptualises transformation - functional materials are reimagined in the context of art, raising questions about value, perception, and the aesthetic potential inherent in industrial forms, inviting the viewer to reconsider everyday objects, not just for their use, but for their deeper symbolic and material significance.
Winning artist Mark Booth commented on the award: "I am deeply grateful and honoured to have been selected as a winner of the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize. This recognition means so much to me - not only as an acknowledgement of the finished work, but also as encouragement to continue exploring, experimenting, and growing as an artist. For me, sculpture is a way of thinking with my hands. It allows ideas, emotions, and memories to take physical form, while the materials and processes of construction often introduce their own unexpected possibilities. I value the slow, tactile process of making: shaping, adjusting, responding, and sometimes allowing the work to lead me somewhere I had not anticipated, where uncertainty can become part of the discovery."
Since the first exhibition was held in 2001, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize has demonstrated the extraordinary breadth and complexity of contemporary sculpture. No single style, material or approach defines the Prize. Instead, the only constant has been a continuing search for quality, originality and artistic excellence.
Palomo, By: Francheska Coenraads, Special Commendation Award Winner, Photo by: Jessica Maurer
Special Commendation Award, $2,000
Sydney-based Venezuelan-Dutch artist Francheska Coenraads received the Special Commendation Award of $2,000 for Palomo, made from cast iron, sheep wool, plastic, resin and crude oil. Once ridden by liberator Simón Bolívar, the sculpted horse runs across the Venezuelan flag, cut open from neck to back and transformed into a hollow vessel for crude oil - a material that shaped Venezuela's economy while fuelling corruption, political instability and displacement. Fleeing an abstracted, burning Budare (a traditional Venezuelan cooking plate), the horse echoes a nation escaping dictatorship, gutted of its people and its soul.
Special Commendation Award Winner Francheska Coenraads said: "I would like to thank the judges of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize so much for this Special Commendation Award! It means a lot to have this sculpture recognised, particularly because of what it represents to me, giving me the opportunity to bring visibility to the plight of the Venezuelan people."
Mayor Sarah Dixson with the winning sculpture of the Mayor's Award: do Geese see God?, By: BJ Kim
Mayor’s Award, $1,000
BJ Kim received the Mayor’s Award for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize for his work do Geese see God?, receiving $1,000.
Woollahra Mayor Sarah Dixson said: “I was captivated by the joyous sense of movement sculptor BJ Kim has created in ‘do Geese see God?’. Inspired by the diving and soaring form of seagulls this sculpture is strong, elegant and full of hope. It’s a clever reminder of our desire for freedom and humanity’s enduring questions about a greater power.”
Mayor’s Award Winner BJ Kim said: “I'm incredibly honoured and grateful to receive the Mayor's Choice Award. It's a career highlight and will encourage me to pursue my practice with renewed energy. My sincere thanks to Mayor Dixson for her selection, and to Woollahra Council and the great team at Woollahra Gallery for their ongoing commitment to this important and inspiring prize. Congratulations to all the finalists: it's a privilege to exhibit alongside such talented artists. I'm also grateful to my teacher, the late Tom Bass, and the Tom Bass Sculpture Studio School community for creating a unique and nurturing space that makes works like mine possible. Finally, heartfelt thanks to my partner, son and extended family for their love, patience and support.”
Nascent State: (hot pink), By Mark Booth, with judges (left - right) Emily Sullivan, Beau Neilson and Tim Silver
The Judges
The 2026 judges Emily Sullivan (Curator of Contemporary International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales), Beau Neilson (Arts Leader and Philanthropist) and Tim Silver (Artist and winner of the 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize) selected the winning works from 49 finalists, chosen from 724 local and international entries.
Judge Emily Sullivan said: "We were so impressed by the breadth of works on display and the range of artists from all stages of careers. The winning work, 'Nascent state (hot pink)', rises up in a state of becoming, but also of break down, proliferation and clinging on. We were drawn to the inherent contrasts within the work, between hard and soft, one and many, machine and organic, and modular and free form. Each choice in the making process - from the use of printing technology to the meticulous hand finish and improvised assembly - seemed to wrestle with questions about technology and how it fits and relates to daily life. We awarded the Highly Commended prize to Paloma, a work that surprised and impressed us for its material experimentation and poetics."
Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf Director, Sep Pourbozorgi said: "We’re excited to celebrate 25 years of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize. Since its inception, the Prize has supported both emerging and established artists, providing a platform for new ideas and playing a meaningful role in the development of artists’ careers. That legacy is something we’re incredibly proud of. This year’s finalists reflect the breadth and diversity of contemporary sculpture, from bronze, glass and ceramics to fibre, found materials, 3D-printed works and stone. As we mark this year’s significant milestone, it’s exciting to look ahead and imagine what this year’s artists will go on to achieve, and the role the Prize might play in their journeys."
Woollahra Super Small Sculpture Prize
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, young artists were invited to enter the inaugural Woollahra Super Small Sculpture Prize!
Free-to-enter, this new prize celebrates the creativity of primary school-aged children, inviting them to create an original sculpture no larger than 15cm in any dimension. There are two age categories: 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds.
Finalists and winners are selected on merit and originality by the Gallery Director and a guest judge.
All finalists will be exhibited online and alongside the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition from 4 - 29 November 2026.
With a $200 prize pool for each age category and a $100 Viewers' Choice Award, this exhibition is a fun and inspiring opportunity for your child to share their ideas, experiment with materials and be part of Australia's leading sculpture prizes.
Entries are now closed. Winners will be announced on 4 November.
Thanks to Our Sponsors
The Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize is supported by the following sponsors:
Gold Sponsor: Wentworth Courier
Silver Sponsors: Crawford’s Casting, D’Leanne Lewis, J. Farren Price, Catalina Rose Bay, Sandersons Rushcutters Bay, Form & Face by Dr Benjamin Norris, Zart Art supplies (in-kind)
Find out more about the 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize