More than 50 John Moores Painting Prize entries will go on display tomorrow (9 July) following the announcement of this year’s winner.

Artist Michael Simpson was was awarded the prestigious accolade yesterday (7 July) during an announcement at Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery, and receives a £25,000 prize for his winning painting ‘Squint (19)’ (pictured).

The chosen artwork is one of a series of paintings by the Dorset artist, who featured in the final shortlist alongside Talar Aghbashian, Gabriella Boyd, Benjamin Jamie and Selma Parlour.

Simpson’s painting will be displayed at the Walker Gallery from 9 July to 27 November during this year’s Liverpool Biennial, which gets underway across the city tomorrow.

It will form part of the John Moores Painting Prize 2016 exhibition, which will include 54 works selected from more than 2,500 entries into this year’s competition.

During the exhibiton, visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite painting to win the Visitors’ Choice Award, sponsored by Rathbones, and the winning artist will be announced on 3 November to receive a £2,016 award.

Sandra Penketh, director of art galleries at National Museums Liverpool, says: “Squint (19) is a deserving winner of this year’s prize. Its linear aesthetic and carefully refined colour palette draws the viewer in, inviting them to explore ideas around the representation of painted space, which Simpson explores in his characteristically subtle and intelligent style.

“This will be the fifth time that Simpson’s work has been selected for the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition over the last 27 years. That’s a phenomenal achievement, and is testament to the enduring appeal of his painting.”

This year’s John Moores Painting Prize was judged by an esteemed panel of jury members from across the art world, including the artists Gillian Carnegie, Ansel Krut, Phoebe Unwin and Ding Yi, and the author and freelance curator Richard Davey.

Organised in partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, the John Moores Painting Prize is supported by its exhibition partner Weightmans.

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