Peter McDonald, Fontana. © the artist

The winner of the John Moores Prize, the traditional curtain raiser of the Liverpool Biennial and the UK’s biggest painting prize, has been announced at the city’s Walker Art Gallery.

Tokyo-born 35-year-old Peter McDonald has scooped the £25,000 first prize with a painting depicting an artist slashing his own canvas.

The abstract work, called Fontana, was inspired by the practice of controversial Italian artist, Lucio Fontana, who used to slash his own canvasses.

"Peter's winning painting acts as a tantalising and provocative glimpse into the way we think,” said John Moores judge Graham Cowley. “The John Moores has always been about reflecting what is innovative and relevant in contemporary British painting and this year's selection is an exceptional example."

Perhaps reflecting the tastes of a judging panel which included Jake and Dinos Chapman, this year’s impressive range of paintings is the most overtly painterly selection for the John Moores in recent years. Works range from portraiture, landscapes and still lives to abstracts.

For many visitors to this year’s exhibition, which runs at the Walker until January 4 2009, the influence of the Chapman’s, whether it be real or perceived, will be immediately apparent.

Grant Foster, Hero Worship. © the artist

Opposite the entrance hangs a large painting by Georgia Hayes, Opportuno III, which features a donkey with an unfeasibly large appendage. Nearby hangs a painting by Michelle McKeown with the unambiguous title, C**t.

There is also a darker political side to some of the work and further on the playful side of the Chapmans gives way to darker political content.

Grant Foster’s Hero Worship is a troubling painting in oil rendered with human hair on board that offers up a grotesque lamentation on corrupted male idols whilst Alex Gene Morrison’s Black Bile is a disturbing image of menacing blue eyes staring out from an animalistic mass of hair.

But it was Peter McDonald’s Fontana that caught the judge’s eyes.

Standing before his wining canvas Peter told Culture24: “I’m ecstatic, surprised and happy, and I just hope winning the prize will give me more exposure and make more people aware of my work. Maybe it will also help my career especially giving the profile of some of the judges.”

The prize has historically been the turning point in several artists’ careers including Peter Doig, David Hockney and Richard Hamilton.

Geraint Evans, An Ornamental Hermit. © the artist

Now in its 50th year, this year’s biennial prize has seen the highest ever number of submissions (3,222), reflecting the growing interest in painting and the John Moores’ position as Britain’s most important painting prize.

"Although the prize judged us on the merits of one painting, I hope that visitors to the exhibition can also have an opportunity to think about painting as a practice, carried on over many years through trials and experiments," added Peter.

This year’s four runner up winners Julian Brain, Geraint Evans, Grant Foster and Neal Jones each receive £2,500.

“All the prizewinning works are outstanding examples of originality in contemporary painting,” said Reyahn King, Director of Art Galleries at the Walker Art Gallery. “McDonald’s first prizewinning painting , Fontana, combines art historical reference with a contemporary light-hearted attitude that cannot fail to engage. We are purchasing the work and I am delighted about its selection for the gallery’s collection.”

The prize has been a key component of the Liverpool Biennial since 1999, and is a major strand in the city’s 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations. In celebration of Liverpool’s year as Capital of Culture, this year’s popular visitors' choice prize will be increased to £2008.