A 22-year-old Oxford graduate is the youngest artist to exhibit work at the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award 2017 show.
Khushna Sulaman-Butt recently gained a BFA from the University of Oxford, Ruskin School of Art.
‘Society’ by Khushna was selected from 2,580 entries by artists from 87 countries around the world. Khushna said, “Having my painting exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery is like a dream come true.
“When I was at school in Year 10 my teacher handed me a National Portrait Gallery catalogue and said that's what you should aim for.
“Little did I ever expect that five years later I'd be the youngest artist exhibiting there.”
Khushna explained that her painting is her snapshot of society that is full of pressures and suggests tension from posing a series of open ended questions.
“All of the sitters in the portrait were students at Oxford University, studying at the same time as me. Not all of the sitters knew each other prior to the sitting.
“I intentionally chose people who have different types of relationships from some knowing each other really well and being good friends, some were acquaintances and some had never met each at all.
“I wanted to explore the vulnerability of being exposed in front of a stranger.
"I believe that this translated very well into the painting and created ambiguity and suspense in the characters and intrigue into their relationship or lack of.”
Khushna Sulaman-Butt (Picture: courtesy: www.seh.ox.ac.uk)
She added, “The tension also comes from the position of my sitters in society, for example their age, gender aesthetics and ethnic background, this creates a sexual and racial tension. I wanted the sitters to address the audience in a provocative way.”
The BP Portrait Award, now in its 38th year at the National Portrait Gallery, is a highlight of the annual art calendar and represents the very best in contemporary portrait painting.
The BP Portrait Award Exhibition will be touring the country over the following dates:
National Portrait Gallery, London
22 June - 24 September, 2017
Exeter City Art Gallery, Exeter
4 October - 4 December, 2017
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh
11 December, 2017 - 19 March, 2018
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, Sunderland
26 March – 11 June, 2018
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