Art Vinyl Returns to The Hari 2023

The public vote awarded first place to Simon Monk for Black Country, New Road’s album ‘Ants From Up There’. This is just one image from a series of still life paintings inhabiting two worlds at once – one being an every-day reality and one filled with fantasy and imagination. The album artwork brought the ‘plastic bag paintings’ to a new audience and, for the artist, started as a solution to the problem of how to make a still life oil painting in the 21^st century, without it being old fashioned, whilst demonstrating how a painting can dignify a cheap or otherwise insignificant object.

The artwork by Bart Balboa for Birds In Row’s album ‘Gris Klein’ received second place, and in third place was illustrator Jason Joyce for Jake Blanchard for Richard Dawson’s album ‘The Ruby Cord‘.

As voted for by the public, the winning artwork ‘Violence’ shows nude, intertwined bodies in a photographic take on baroque art of yore. The sleeve comes designed and photographed by visual collaborator Rahi Rezvari, who has a history depicting movement through visuals, producing imagery and campaigns for the Netherlands Dance Theatre.

The second place for Best Art Vinyl 2018 went to designer Tom Hingston’s wacko artwork for Young Fathers’ ‘Cocoa Sugar’, whilst third place went to Aphex Twin’s ‘Collapse’, a reality-warping sleeve from design legends The Designer’s Republic.

For Best Art Vinyl 2015 it was David Gilmour’s ‘Rattle That Lock’ album taking first place, Drenge’s ‘Undertow’ coming second, and Tame Impala’s ‘Currents’ in third place.

Best Art Vinyl founder Andrew Heeps explains, “This is the first year such an established artist’s record has won Best Art Vinyl, but notably the design team have historically been responsible for so many iconic sleeve designs and their talent and creativity to match the musicians’ wishes clearly shone through.