Artist puts prestigious competition in shade with his 'consistently influential' artwork

Pavel Bchler beat three other finalists to win the 16,500 prize after impressing judges with his witty artwork and installations.

The Czech-born artist was unveiled as this year's winner at an awards event held at Leeds Art Gallery.

The judging panel, made up of artist Richard Deacon, Patricia Bickers, editor of Art Monthly, Peter Murray, director of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Paul Hobson, director of the Contemporary Art Society and chairwoman Tanja Pirsig-Marshal, felt Bchler's work stood out.

They said: "Bchler has been consistently influential to a huge amount of people throughout his career, as a practitioner and teacher. We were particularly impressed with Eclipse which we felt to be a very strong piece of work."

The judges took time out to congratulate the three other finalists, Rachel Goodyear, Matt Stokes and Nick Crowe and Ian Rawlinson, for helping to enhance the contemporary visual arts scene in the North of England.

Bchler, based in Manchester, displayed seven of his most recent works in the Northern Art Prize exhibition. His installation piece Eclipse consists of nine projectors casting circles of light on a wall, evoking the solar system. A series of objects are then inserted into the optics to create a sequence of eclipses.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post last year after he was shortlisted, Bchler said although he was delighted to be showing his work alongside fellow artists, he disagreed with the principles behind the exhibition.

"Artists are competing with history," he said, "not with one another."

The Northern Art Prize exhibition runs at Leeds Art Gallery until February 21.