China-inspired art exhibition now open

The Red Mansion Art Prize Exhibition 2017 is on display at the Kendrew Barn in St John's College this week.

The exhibition is being presented by the Ruskin School of Art and the Red Mansion Art Foundation, and displays work by the winners of the Red Mansion Prize 2016.

The Prize is awarded to one student from each of the UK's seven leading art schools every year. Each of these students visited China for a fully-funded residency in the summer of 2016. They were given studio space and the opportunity to work alongside local artists.

The results of this work have been brought together in this week's exhibition.

This year's winner from the Ruskin School of Art is Olivia Rowland.

'The cultural experience really made me reexamine not only my own practice and processes, but the way I examine and take in the world at large - both as an artist, and as an observer,' she says.

The exhibition has been curated by Ian Kiaer, an artist and tutor at the Ruskin School of Art. 

He says: 'The Red Mansion Prize provides an opportunity for selected students across seven of the UK’s major Fine Art programmes to work and exhibit together, allowing them exposure to, and dialogue with, some of their most promising peers, as well as artists in China.

'It is also significant that this is the first time the event is happening in Oxford, bringing early-career artists to the heart of the collegiate University.'

The exhibition closes this Friday (31 March) at St John's College. 

DYSPK by Natalie Skobeeva