AN 18-year-old Leaving Cert student from Kinsale has won a Zurich Young Portrait Award.
Mia Buckley, who is a student at Bruce College in Cork, told The Southern Star she plans to pursue a career in the arts, having already won the Doodle4Google art award in 2016.
Mia’s portrait of her boyfriend Tudor Albu, who is also a student at Bruce College, is currently hanging in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, but it will go on display at the Crawford Gallery in Cork in April 2022.
‘As a result of lockdown, and the lack of access to hairdressers,’ Mia said, ‘Tudor ended up with long, gorgeous curls that I wanted to capture in a portrait.
‘I loved investigating the colour, light and shadow that was portrayed across his skin and the autumnal tones in his curls,’ she said.
Mia’s portrait featured alongside 19 other shortlisted works but hers took the top prize in the16-to-18 year-old category.
The judges for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize were visual artist Aideen Barry; artist, art teacher and activist Joe Caslin; and Tadhg Crowley of the Glucksman in Cork.
