Yvette Coppersmith announced as finalist for eighth time
The finalists for the 2025 Archibald Prize have been announced, including Yvette Coppersmith, for the eighth time, with her self portrait and a portrait of Wendy Sharpe.
Yvette Coppersmith said it’s always a huge gift to be selected as a finalist in the coveted Archibald Prize.
The artist, who has been named as a 2025 finalist for her artwork, Self-portrait with two cats, likened the selection to a “little miracle” because it’s completely out of the artists’ hands.
It’s the eighth time Coppersmith has been selected, although this year she didn’t make the work specifically for the Archibald.
“That is my ideal way to do things,” she told The AJN. “It was a work hanging in my kitchen the past few months … so whatever the judges thought wouldn’t make a difference to my own relationship to the work (which is how it should always be).”
The artwork was originally painted for an exhibition curated by Diane Soumilas at Glen Eira Council Gallery called Look. Contemporary Australian Portraiture, which, according to Soumilas was a “celebration of portraiture and how dynamic it is in Australia today.”
“The idea was to convey a feeling of tranquility and tenderness,” Coppersmith explained to The AJN. “The way I navigate external volatility is to reach for a sense of balm through creating an image. Here I was looking at something universal like a relationship to a pet, those moments of peace and love that they provide in our domestic space.”
In the label text that will accompany the work in the exhibition, Coppersmith explains that animals often appear in artworks as metaphors, but in her case, her relationship with her pets is an “integral part of the creative process” and she says they serve as a companion and model.
“Their presence brings a sense of calm and intimacy, offering an antidote to the noise and chaos of the world beyond the frame,” she wrote.
“Through this unique bond, my work gains a deeper emotional resonance, as my cats shift from passive figure to active collaborator in the artistic process. This quiet yet profound connection reflects the timeless human need for companionship, offering both solace and inspiration.”
Coppersmith has painted several people in the past, including John Safran, Paul Capsis, Gillian Triggs, Ella Simons, Lady Primrose Potter AC, as well as three self-portraits. And while she has been selected as a finalist eight times, she has also dealt with her fair share of rejection.
“Rejection is hardest when you’ve painted someone else and really want to tell their story and honour their contribution through a portrait,” she said, explaining though that she has worked out strategies including some emotional detachment, describing art prizes as “only one component” of artistic practice.
“As I’m always flat out working on a show, so it’s a case of tick it off the to do list and move on,” she said. “The Archibald is a great motivator to make a new work, and ultimately trust in the timing of how things unfold. If it doesn’t get selected you’ve made a new portrait, possibly made a new connection with the subject, and can look at other art prizes to enter the work or other contexts to exhibit it.”
For her 2025 entry, Coppersmith used oil paint and sand to create Self-portrait with two cats. She said it aligns with recent changes to her process of painting.
“I have added to the texture with sand which gives the work a matte, velvety patina,” she explained. “In my abstract works that texture looks a lot like tapestry or embroidery. I like paintings to have a sense of warmth both through the image and the tactility of paint. The somatic effect a painting can have has to be experienced in the flesh.”
Joining Coppersmith as a finalist is self-taught artist, Lucila Zentner, with her portrait of Wendy Sharpe, titled Wendy in the gallery. Zentner visited for a sitting during Sharpe’s Spellbound exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, where Sharpe was an artist-in-residence, working on pieces in public view in an in situ studio.
“As I watched Wendy fully absorbed and seemingly oblivious to the surrounding onlookers, I was immediately struck by the figure she cut – it had a Vermeer-style quality – and a beautiful triangular stability complemented by her lovely head kerchief,” Zentner said. “It was there and then that I made the decision to paint Wendy side-on – with her face partially shown rather than a traditional portrait pose – and in action which I felt conveys my idea of ‘inner Wendy’ with her vivid mind and brush conjuring all kinds of magical images.”
Zentner said it took around three months to create the portrait and said she was absolutely chuffed when she was announced as a first-time finalist.
“Since childhood I have loved the Archibald Prize and the way it captures the attention of the whole country – even amongst people who don’t usually consider themselves passionate art fans – and sparks conversation and controversy,” she said.
Sharpe said she was particularly thrilled that she wasn’t painted as a static portrait, but rather “in the act of painting a large-scale mural”.
More than 900 entries were submitted for the 2025 Archibald Prize, including a portrait of Rabbi Yaakov Glasman by Kerrin Samuel, one of Alex Rychin by Johannes Leak and a self-portrait by Tracey Hayim.
“The Archibald is more than Australia’s most prestigious portraiture award. It’s a platform for bold expression, vulnerability and truth. And this year, I chose to be seen,” Hayim wrote on LinkedIn.
“Since 7 October 2023, like many Jewish women, I have worn a mask—of joy, of normalcy—while navigating an inner world of sadness, vulnerability, confusion, and pain. The world shifted: silence around acts of terrorism, a lack of empathy, and the brutal violence against women went unacknowledged. That dissonance became a quiet ache beneath the surface. This painting is my response. It honours the strength of Jewish women. It honours those who wear masks. It honours the light that lives underneath. Painted on a deeply symbolic surface – the shattered remains of an antique timber mirror once given to me by my grandmother – this painting is who I’ve grown into, a Jewish woman who feels brave, bold, proud and resilient.”
Fifty-seven paintings were chosen as finalists with the winner of the Archibald Prize, as well as the Wynne and Sulman Prizes, to be announced on Friday.
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