Real Illusions – 2025 London Contemporary Art Review Exhibition

The list of award-winning artists for the British International Art Competition “Real Illusions — 2025 London Contemporary Art Review Exhibition,” organized by Gallery NAT London, was officially released on November 20, 2025. The global media exhibition period will run from November 21 to December 20, 2025. This British international art competition received submissions from artists across dozens of major countries and regions worldwide. After review by Gallery NAT’s Academic Committee—whose members include invited distinguished artists, professors, interdisciplinary creators, and curators from the UK, USA, Canada, France, China, Ghana, and other countries—peer scoring was conducted independently.

Kiesza Li ‘What will the Roots Remember’

According to the final peer-review scoring mechanism, 54 professional artists from 12 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, China, Canada, Ukraine, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Fiji, and Taiwan, won awards or were selected for the exhibition.

Katri Ta ‘Dreams in the Mist’

The jury adhered to strict evaluation standards that do not restrict entrants by nationality, residence, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Judging was based solely on the overall quality of the submitted works, the artist’s CV and academic influence, as well as the international perspective reflected in the work. The competition focused on whether the works responded to the exhibition’s theme, “Real Illusions,” exploring the emotional tension between the real and the illusory, breakthroughs in creative expression, and innovations in artistic language. Works were also evaluated for originality, unique artistic expression, and their ability to surpass traditional frameworks and conventional aesthetic models. Innovation could be demonstrated through material use, formal construction, creative method, and global artistic vision.

NoxOra ‘Epiphany’

Gallery NAT’s curatorial team nominated artists for Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Finalist categories, after which the Academic Committee’s jury conducted the main independent peer scoring. Award categories included: Painting Gold Award, Visual or Digital Art Gold Award, Photography Gold Award, Sculpture & Installation Gold Award, Video Art Gold Award, along with Silver, Bronze, and Finalist awards. In the final scoring, both the Painting Gold Award and Sculpture & Installation Gold Award achieved the same highest overall score from multiple reviewers, and therefore, no “Best Exhibition Award” was established this year.

Sofi Khan ‘Les Paradis Perdus ’

In the context of international contemporary art, the tension between “reality” and “illusion” remains persistent and compelling. Reality is often understood as the tangible and verifiable, while illusion represents another form of reality generated through perception, memory, and imagination. The power of art lies precisely in revealing this tension, reminding us that reality is never absolute but rather constantly constructed and questioned. “Real Illusions — 2025 London Contemporary Art Review Exhibition” is built on this perspective, taking London as its focal point and bringing together artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. Through painting, photography, installation, video, digital art, and AI-based art, the exhibition probes the shifting boundaries between reality and virtuality in contemporary society.

Yanzhen Huang ‘Bye Bye Accordion copy Large’

Zhongqiang Xu ‘The Industrial Age’, black and white woodcut print.

List of Award-Winning Artists

Gold Prize in Painting：Henry Catenacci，Xi Wang

Gold Prize in Visual Art or Digital Art：Audrey Ni Ruorong

Gold Prize in Photography：Lael Reiss，Xiaojun Mo

Gold Prize in Sculpture or Installation Art： Ilka Bauer，Shenlu Liu

Silver Prize：Haris Ahmad，Keeesky，A. Mayawetsky，Emily Peers，Xingchen Guo，Larisa Pitkevich，Yanzhen Huang，Daiana Bruj，Fangxing Li，Hao Zhang，Saki Horikawa，Lili Shen，Timothy Yufit；

Bronze Prize：Elizabeth Yeh，Elena Shcherbina，Emma Paige Hoey，Fiona YEH，GorlayWong，Haoting Wu，Karla Kurz，KatriTa，Kiesza Li，Kyle Nathan Brown，NoxOra，Sofi Khan，Hui Jin, Tianshi Jin，Shengbang Liu，Zhongqiang Xu，Chenyi Zheng，Huiyuan Zhang，Lu Jin，Xingz i (Hazel) Gan，Han Jiang，Wanning Teng，Yuhao Chen，Fusheng Bao，COOLBYRON Dorrothyyyer（Kaixin Huang)，Xiao Chen，Yishan Zhou；

Shortlisted Exhibition：Xuewen Mao， Juanjuan Pan，Ava Martin， Yulan Gao，Kai Wang，Yaping Yang；

Hao Zhang, “Mountains and Rivers Intertwined: Searching for the Peach Blossom Spring”

Dorrothyyyer ‘Obsidiantropic Reincarnation’

“Real Illusions” is not a conclusion but a continual inquiry. May the latest works of the artists—through recognition, awards, and global dissemination across media—enable audiences of different generations to encounter, through both viewing and reflection, the multiple insights that art brings to philosophy, society, and the future.