AGES Art Prize 

Reeva Ashton

Reeva is an emerging artist and psychologist living and working in the greater Melbourne region. Her paintings explore contemporary media and the juxtaposition between realism and abstraction, with an often bright and vibrant colour palette subconsciously informed by her allied health work. Reeva has been a finalist in a number of recent art awards including the Lethbridge 20000 small scale art award 2023, Bluethumb art  prize 2023, and the Agendo art prize 2021, in addition to some smaller local and upcoming awards. Historically, with an early interest in photography, Reeva has additionally won local photographic awards and became a finalist in the 2007 Doug Moran Photographic Prize (student category).

Reeva's work explores the dynamic interplay between realism and abstraction in a harmonious composition. Although inherently juxtaposed forms of traditional painting styles, she aims to create a sense of balance between them. Abstraction in her work takes many forms; at times through peculiarly layered realistic elements or through exploratory processes including the use of shape, form, and colour.  Working across two bodies of work—one that depicts realistic florals that seem to swirl and fall into abstracted backgrounds, and the other that explores portraiture, art history, and contemporary digital media - her work is often described as colourful and dreamlike yet inherently balanced.