It didn’t stand out at first, but the Archibald Prize winner suits the times

Amid an epic mishmash of styles in this year’s Archibald Prize, the judges have crowned the feminine and the cosmic in painter Julie Fragar’s sepia-toned portrait of sculptor Justene Williams.

In this large oil on canvas, Williams floats through space in a coarsely stitched stripey dress suggestive of a refashioned prison uniform. Barefoot, arms extended, she drifts among shooting stars and ethereal figures swirling in the darkness beyond.

Untethered by gravity, Williams soars above the flotsam of a throwaway world, while mannequins (or possibly bots), TV antennas, turn-of-the-century birdcages, spindly wagon wheels, pine furnishings and metallic offcuts cling to the earth below.

Archibald Prize winner Julie Fragar, right, and her subject Justene Williams.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

The judges, who have spent hours with the artworks in recent weeks, have chosen a piece rich in symbolism – one that was largely overlooked by those of us granted an early preview of this year’s exhibition, which is awash with competing styles.

Amid the visual busyness, I was drawn to the quiet mastery of Natasha Bieniek’s Cressida Campbell, struck by the raw emotion in Chris O’Doherty’s self-portrait, and charmed by the playful spirit Jason Phu brought to his portrait of Hugo Weaving.

Jude Rae’s Pre-dawn sky over Port Botany container terminal, oil on linen, 200cm x 150.4cm

However, it’s easy to see its appeal to the trustees tasked with the unenviable job of choosing a winner from hundreds of open submissions.

In a moment marked by global conflict, an untethered US president, artistic censorship by the very institutions meant to protect expression and the relentless encroachment of AI on creative livelihoods, perhaps only a gloriously bonkers painting wherein the feminine defiantly triumphs will do. Amen to that.

Beyond the media frenzy of the Archibald, there is genuine delight to be found in this year’s Wynne Prize, Australia’s longest-running art prize, where during the past decade, Aboriginal artworks have increasingly come to the fore.

This year’s winner is Jude Rae, with an exceptional vertical landscape of Botany Bay’s container terminal at pre-dawn, as seen from the artist’s fourth-floor apartment on Redfern hill.

In her acceptance speech, Rae explained how when she moved to Redfern, she learned that her home sat adjacent to the ancient Indigenous footpath once linking Sydney Harbour to the Bay.

Gene A’Hern’s Sky painting, oil and oil stick on board, 240cm x 240cm

Rae observed that although the stars are invisible in the city, we might do well to remember they’re still there – and perhaps to take some solace in the artificial lights of the container terminal instead.

Her story brings the Wynne’s recent evolution full circle. Nearly half the exhibited works this year are by Aboriginal artists, and curator Beatrice Gralton’s thoughtful hang creates a rich, textural snapshot of contemporary Australian art, where traditional categories blur into something altogether new. From Catherine O’Donnell’s letterbox-shaped painting of a fibro beach shack, exquisitely lit with the nostalgic tones of an Australian summer, to Papunya Tula artist Aubrey Tjangala’s Keith Haring-esque landscape – this year’s show is full of arresting moments.

As Gene A’Hern accepted the Sulman Prize for his Sky painting, an atmospheric evocation of the Blue Mountains, he acknowledged the influence of the region’s rich Aboriginal culture on his work.

The Sulman, curated and judged by artist Elizabeth Pulie, continues to delight, but this year, it’s the Wynne that truly soars.