The quilt of a lifetime wins Australia’s richest prize for young contemporary artists.

Sydney-based artist Sarah Contos has been announced as the winner of the 2017 Ramsay Art Prize for her work Sarah Contos Presents: The Long Kiss Goodbye. The inaugural $100,000 prize, Australia’s richest prize for young contemporary artists under the age of 40, was established by the philanthropic James and Diana Ramsay Foundation.

“Contos’ 21st-century quilt spills over, and, like a new epic history tableaux, celebrates power women in all their glory with fireworks, sequins and PVC,” said Leigh Robb, one of the judges and Art Gallery of South Australia’s Curator of Contemporary Art. According to the judges, they were unanimous in their decision, feeling that the selection of Contos represents a wonderful beginning for the Prize.

The huge quilt, selected from over 450 entries and 21 finalists from all over Australia including paintings, photography, video and interactive works, took a long time to make. “The actual putting-it-all-together took three months, but each of the prints I have used in exhibitions over the last four years, so I guess it took four years and three months,” Contos tells Limelight. “Usually, if I have an exhibition, I keep one...