The annual RCSI Art Award this year has been awarded to Donald Teskey, in partnership with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), for his evocative oil painting “Orchestral II”. His inspiration was drawn from nature, specifically the butterbur wildflowers that grow in verdant clusters along the banks of the Dodder river in southern Dublin during the summer months.
This river, a stone’s throw from Teskey’s studio, has always held a magnetic attraction for him. From 2017 he began to study in earnest the river’s intimate details and the aesthetically pleasing patterns formed by the butterbur foliage in summer, all set against a backdrop of flowing mountain water. This fashioned a striking scene, which he captured in his piece.
“Orchestral II” is a vivid representation of Teskey’s lifelong ambition to bring abstract elements to his depiction of botanical life. Across the course of this project, which involved much iteration and adaptation to symbolise the unpredictability of nature, he collaborated with the summer landscape, drawing, observing, conceptualising, taking snapshot after snapshot, and ultimately creating this award-winning painting.
The award ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, saw the artist, originally from Limerick, receive a Silver Medal from the RCSI along with €5,000 as a contribution to his continuing work. Furthermore, Teskey received a €10,000 commission to create a fresh artwork for the RCSI’s collection.
Teskey’s painting was chosen as the standout piece from a preliminary selection of five works featuring in the 194th RHA Annual Exhibition, Ireland’s premier, continuous visual art exhibition involving 515 displayed works. In its ninth year running, the RCSI Art Award aims to promote the intrinsic bonds between the worlds of art, medicine and overall wellbeing.