St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) is delighted to announce artist Oscar Louz Fopez as the winner of our annual Favourite Painting exhibition and competition.
Lost Plains, an oil on canvas painting by the artist, received the highest number of votes in the competition, which ran from mid-August. The painting was submitted as an entry by Dublin’s Molesworth Gallery.
Favourite Painting is an annual initiative, which sees several of Ireland’s leading galleries put forward contemporary artworks for display, with visitors to the resulting exhibition then invited to vote for their preferred piece.
This year, four galleries submitted 17 pieces from different artists, each with an individual style and uplifting or engaging quality. While the exhibition would ordinarily feature in the Arts Space of St Patrick’s University Hospital, the paintings instead went on show in an online gallery in light of COVID-19 precautions, with hundreds of people casting their votes before the deadline of 25 September.
Having won the poll, Lost Plains will now go on display on our campus as part of our permanent art collection.
Dr Conor Farren, Chair of our Art Committee, said:
“I am delighted that Oscar Fouz Lopez has won Favourite Painting for this year. Its themes of displacement and mystery resonated with voters in this year of the pandemic. It will be a beautiful addition to our permanent collection, and we hope it will be available for all to view in the near future."
Favourite Painting aims to underline the important link between mental health and creative arts. We would like to congratulate Oscar Fouz Lopez and thank all the artists and galleries who took part in the exhibition.
