Finalist: Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2026
With his work, Unwinding, 2025
Kevin Chin
21 Aug - 11 Oct 2026
The national acquisitive Sunshine Coast Art Prize is a dynamic visual arts award reflecting outstanding contemporary 2D arts practice in Australia.
The exhibition presents the remarkable finalist works by artists from across the country.
The winner receives $25,000 and their artwork is acquired into the Sunshine Coast Art Collection.
“In this pieced-together dream-space that only exists through painting, ‘Unwinding’ tests how landscape and architecture converge to open spaces where we can fit in. Here, the comfort of domestic interiors and the expansiveness of nature paradoxically interweave, because both connect us to feelings of safety and respite.
My interest in this state of mind stems from personal migrant and travel experiences, but extends to the collective global search for sturdy ground during confusing times. The painting pulls together imagery from across continents. Skies, lakes, windows, reflections, walls: Painterly surfaces create openings and slippages, to test how we orient ourselves in this supposedly interconnected world.
The neo-futuristic, green architecture, that feels somewhat ubiquitous, references this contemporary age of connectedness yet uncertainty. The title, ‘Unwinding,’ refers to escaping through greenspace – nature, urban planning, or even just daydreams – and how our sense of place can unwind around a painted pole.”
– Kevin Chin, 2025