The winner of the 2018 Clyde & Co Melbourne Art Award has been announced.

The Clyde & Co Art Award, part of the insurance law firm's global corporate responsibility programme, was designed to nurture and encourage emerging talent in the visual arts by supporting art graduates in their professional development and paying them fairly to show their work.

Scooping the Clyde & Co Melbourne Art Award 2018 was Talia Haber for “Lines in Relation to One Another' – two same-sized artworks on paper featuring lines in unstructured patterns to create an abstract image.

The Staff Choice Award, meanwhile, was given to Shaun Parnaby for his work “Hopeful Old Mess” – a painting that uses large strokes of ink followed by bleach edits to create a portrait of a man looking directly at the viewer.

Haber, as Clyde & Co Melbourne Art Award winner, received a cash prize, while all other participants were offered pro bono legal advice to assist with their commercial art careers and payment for the exhibition of their artworks at the Melbourne office for the rest of the year.

Several of the pieces on exhibition are available for purchase.