{"id":27332,"date":"2025-02-16T20:27:05","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T20:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/?p=27332"},"modified":"2025-05-25T17:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T17:10:37","slug":"esther-castle-winner-of-new-blood-art-emerging-art-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/esther-castle-winner-of-new-blood-art-emerging-art-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther Castle\u00a0– Winner of New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Introducing Esther Castle<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Esther Castle\u2019s world is peculiar, vivid, and exact. Her shape-shifting figures are both humorous and haunted – twisting through scenes that fold tenderness into distortion, and oddness into something true.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

These aren\u2019t illustrations. They\u2019re inventions. Built through texture, scale, and a kind of strange precision that stays with you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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View Available Work by Esther Castle<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Aneira Thomas <\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Alongside this, Aneira Thomas has been awarded the Public Vote.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Her practice is slow, deliberate, and materially grounded. She makes her own paints, hand-stretches her canvases, and works in a vertical format that feels both formal and instinctive. Her paintings invite attention – not interpretation. Just looking, closely, and for longer than you planned.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Both artists are now available through the gallery.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Thank you to everyone who voted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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View Available Work by Aneira Thomas<\/a><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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About the Prize<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize<\/a> recognises the most outstanding fine art graduates from across the UK. Unlike open-call competitions, artists are nominated by their tutors, ensuring that those selected have demonstrated exceptional artistic commitment and development throughout their degree. The prize is designed to support emerging artists in the critical transition from higher education to establishing their professional practice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Jury Panel<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Alongside Sarah Ryan, founder of New Blood Art and the New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize, the selection this year was made by:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022 Peter Hargreaves CBE<\/strong> \u2013 Co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK\u2019s largest direct-to-investor investment platform. A highly respected business leader and passionate supporter of the arts and emerging talent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022 Jim Rajan<\/strong> \u2013 Artist, writer, and founder of The Subtle Qualities School, the first of its kind for sensitives and highly creative individuals. He works with artists and professionals in deeply meaningful ways, helping them develop their creative and personal potential.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\u2022 Jury Comments<\/strong>
Peter Hargreaves CBE:<\/strong>
\u201cAt first glance, Esther\u2019s work struck me as completely uncommercial. But then I looked again – and again. Would I display her work in my house? Yes, absolutely. It would get copious comment, and I would never tire of it. At the first run-through, I had three contenders, but two stood out: Tilly Cooke, and Esther Castle, alongside Aneira Thomas. 
Esther shows amazing confidence in producing such large works. Perhaps adversity can make you confident. I won\u2019t forget Esther\u2019s work.
..Amazingly, despite my fear that we wouldn\u2019t have a consensus, we appear to agree. I did look through all the artists a number of times, and I choose Esther.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022 Jim Rajan:<\/strong>
\u201cWhat draws me to Esther\u2019s work – what makes it stand apart – is the depth of the story it tells. As Salvador Dal\u00ed said, \u2018Every artist creates a cosmogony of themselves.\u2019 That\u2019s exactly what she\u2019s doing – constructing a world that is entirely her own, something that expands the more you look at it. Among all the artists we considered, many created beautifully crafted pieces, but only two truly gave me that sense of an artist revealing their entire world. The more I look at them, the more I see that. Esther is one of them. The other is Christian Sloan.
What also inspires me about Esther\u2019s work is where she\u2019s going to take it. Some artists present a complete body of work – a set of paintings that feel self-contained – but with her, there\u2019s a sense of evolution. I find myself asking: what comes next? There\u2019s an unwritten intrigue in her creation, a feeling that these little characters, these forms, will keep evolving. It\u2019s not something I get from anyone else – not that I should, or that others have failed – but with her, it\u2019s different. I want to follow where she goes next. And that\u2019s fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022 Sarah Ryan:<\/strong>
\u201cOne of the most striking things about Esther\u2019s work is the way she has transmuted and alchemised her personal experience into her practice. Reading about her inspiration and motivation was incredibly moving. Her work is deeply rooted in that process – an exploration of resilience, transformation, and survival.
Beyond the personal narrative, there\u2019s something remarkable about Esther\u2019s artistic vision. She embodies that rare quality of true originality. It\u2019s something rare I\u2019ve heard other collectors speak about – the feeling of standing in front of a work that is entirely unique, born from a place that is wholly the artist\u2019s own, not referencing anyone else. That kind of work can be unsettling at first.. because it isn\u2019t instantly familiar. It takes a certain boldness to recognise and embrace something truly new.
Esther\u2019s work carries that quality. It doesn\u2019t fit into immediate commercial categories, yet paradoxically, I believe she has both – an undeniable artistic integrity and something that, over time, will hold significant appeal.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Acknowledgments<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The following artists were shortlisted or noted by the jury during the selection process:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u2022 Tilly Cooke<\/a>
\u2022 Christian Sloan<\/a>
\u2022 Aneira Thomas<\/a>
\u2022 Allison Gretchko<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Future Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

New Blood Art has been championing emerging artists for 20 years, working closely with art colleges to discover and support outstanding new talent. As an online gallery, our focus is on giving artists visibility and exposure – placing their work in front of collectors and audiences who are passionate about discovering new voices.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

By awarding Esther Castle the New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize, we are shining a light on her work, providing her with a platform to reach a wider audience at this critical early stage in her career.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As part of her award, Esther will receive monthly mentorship from Sarah Ryan, founder of New Blood Art. Sarah brings a unique combination of expertise – as a gallery founder, an art tutor, and a qualified psychotherapist. This approach provides artists with support that goes beyond career guidance, helping them develop a clear artistic direction, navigate the challenges of post-graduation life, and sustain their creative practice with confidence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In addition, Jim Rajan will offer a mentoring session, bringing his experience in working with highly sensing and creative individuals. As an artist, writer, and founder of The Subtle Qualities School, Jim specialises in helping artists develop clarity, resilience, and deeper creative engagement – offering insights that may help Esther strengthen her practice in meaningful ways.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What’s Esther doing next? In her own words: <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019ve just started my ESW\/ECA graduate award residency at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop allowing me to gain more experience and technical skills when creating sculptural work. My three-month residency gives me access to training from ESW\u2019s technical team, a studio space, a materials budget as well as mentorship from the program team. <\/em>
In the past I have experimented in creating sculptural work, however through the guidance of Edinburgh Sculpture Workshops team, I feel my art practice has grown. The technician\u2019s expert knowledge and their approach to making has allowed me to begin to realise ambitious curious objects as well as helping me experiment with materials I haven\u2019t worked with before. This has resulted in sculpture becoming a more valuable and enthralling part of my art practice. <\/em>
So far, I have experimented with creating clay figures as well as testing out ideas through casting techniques. I\u2019m also hoping to create peculiar metal structures that juxtapose and obstruct the figures I create to act as a form of stage set when creating installation work with both my sculptures and my paintings.  <\/em>
In the immediate future I\u2019m preparing for an exhibition in April with my fellow ESW\/ECA graduate award winners at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and I\u2019m looking for further residencies. I\u2019m also excited to see how the sculptures I\u2019ve been creating interact with new paintings I\u2019ve been working on as an installation. <\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Esther\u00a0Castle\u00a0has been awarded the New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize for her exceptional degree show work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[545,453],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-blood-art-prize","category-investable-artists"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27332"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27791,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27332\/revisions\/27791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newbloodart.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}