Maquette: Sculpture Award

The inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award brings together 61 sculptures by contemporary Australian artists. One entry will be awarded $20,000 and will become part of McClelland’s renowned permanent collection, which is focused on modern and contemporary Australian sculpture. The title of this new sculpture prize refers to the scale of the entries—no more than 50 centimetres in any dimension. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, with the winning work chosen by acclaimed sculptor John Meade.

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McClelland is delighted to announce Michael Sibel as the winner of the inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award for his work Two Parts (2025), a patinated bronze sculpture measuring 40 x 35 x 35 cm. This new $20,000 acquisitive award, generously supported by celebrated Australian artist Rick Amor, honours sculptural skill and expression and will see the winning work enter the McClelland collection.

Chosen from an impressive pool of 252 entries and 62 finalists, Two Parts captivated the 2025 judge, artist John Meade with its clarity, conceptual depth and refined execution.

John Meade commented:

“Michael Sibel’s patinated bronze maquette, Two Parts, was a clear standout for me as judge of the inaugural 2025 Maquette: Sculpture Award at McClelland. As the title suggests, it is a two-part companion piece: at first glance the pair appear to be a mirror double of one sliced into two, as if they could lock back together. But this is not the case.

As the artist says in his eloquent statement accompanying the work, the two interdependent forms are “distinct yet incomplete without one another.” With the body embedded, the forms carry within them the sculptural tradition of volume in modern art from Jean Arp to Martin Puryear.

The scale of the work is just right, the forms are contemporary, and I was moved by the simple clarity of the sculpture. Two Parts successfully blends a curving “minimalism with an emotional resonance” to quote, I 🖤 Lizzy currently @ Neon Parc.

Michael Sibel has arrived at a new level of maturity as a sculptor, and this one is a winner.”

According to Sibel:

“At the heart of this work is the relationship between two interdependent forms—distinct yet incomplete without one another. Their interaction becomes a meditation on connection: how we hold space for one another, where we meet, resist, and rest. The tension and balance between them reflect the complexity of human relationships—simultaneously intimate and autonomous.”

The Maquette: Sculpture Award celebrates sculptural imagination at its most distilled. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, who said:

“The Maquette: Sculpture Award is a celebration of the sculptor’s imagination at its most distilled. We’re proud to support artists working in this vital medium and to welcome a new generation of sculptural ideas into the McClelland collection.”

Curator Suzette Wearne added:

“It's exciting to have the chance to bring together such a wide range of artistic voices and styles. The finalists’ sculptures run the gamut of materials: bronze, timber, ceramic, textile, glass, plaster, paper, resin and found and natural materials… There will be something for every gallery visitor to enjoy.”

The finalists’ works will be exhibited at McClelland from Saturday 22 November 2025 to Sunday 22 February 2026, presenting audiences the unique opportunity to explore and contemplate the spectrum of contemporary Australian sculpture.