New English Art Club 2017, London SW1

The Contemporary Arts Trust NEAC 2017 winner is Alex Maczkowski. At first his little drawing seems conventional. However, by dividing up the composition into squares and treating each square in a subtly different manner is innovative. What first appears conventional becomes exciting and haunting.

RBA The Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017 at Mall Galleries, The Mall, St. James’s, London SW1 +44 (0)20 7930 6844

Jane McNulty is 18 years old and is still at school. The composition of her portrait shows careful thought and great maturity. Every element is carefully placed and has been thought through. The underlying composition of black, white and beige rectangles demonstrates this. In portrait painting the viewer needs to be led to face which is the prime point of focus. The cook’s head is brilliantly positioned within the abstract white square made by the cupboard. The clever use of the cooker hood shadow not only directs the viewer to the cook’s eye, but echoes its shape. A worthy prize-winner.

RE The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, The Masters at Bankside Galleries Thames Riverside, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH

The Masters Award at The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) prize was won by Laura Rosser for her woodcut, Golden Girl, (130 x 150cm). The detail of the woodcutting was fine and remarkable and the image both traditional and avant-garde in composition. Her pricing was also extremely reasonable for a large image that took a great deal of work and time to produce.