Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf has announced the winners of the 2025 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Australia’s most prestigious award for small-scale sculpture.
Founded by Woollahra Council and now in its 24th year, the Prize continues to celebrate dynamic and innovative approaches to contemporary sculpture, with this year’s winners highlighting the transformative potential of materials and form. The announcement coincides with the opening of the exhibition of finalist works, now on display until 16 November 2025.
Prize Winners
Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2025, $25,000
Awarded to Auckland-based artist Virginia Leonard for Glad that you are not here all the time — an urn for unwanted limbs and other things, crafted from clay, pure gold and resin. An internationally recognised ceramicist represented by leading galleries in Aotearoa, Australia, the USA and
Switzerland, Leonard’s work is held in major public and private collections worldwide. Her winning sculpture channels personal frustrations into a layered form, combining glazed ceramics with resin casting to explore the tensions between opacity and transparency.
On winning the Prize, Virginia Leonard said, “I am super grateful and honoured to win the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, and to be showing alongside some incredible works. It is such a massive feeling to be acknowledged with this new body of work, as I pour and cast resin in my garage late into the night hoping that what I see and feel, other people will as well.”

“It’s a good feeling, especially the validation from these there judges. The work that won is a new direction in my practice so it is affirming and builds momentum in the studio. Actually the day of the announcement I was in hospital under going a knee replacement , it was very appropriate timing considering what the work was about.

The win was great but the best part is to be selected and be amongst other great makers.

Also a very good excuse to go to Sydney for the artist talk!”