German artist Juergen Wolf has been announced as the winner of this year's Young Masters Art Prize, taking home the £1,500 prize.

The prestigious award was presented at Sphinx Fine Art in London's West End this evening by Charles Saumarez Smith, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Wolf was chosen from a shortlist of 30 international artists for his ironic painted takes on icons, taboos and the menaces of the civilised world.

"I was very impressed by the quality of the entries to the prize as a whole, greatly enjoyed the process of selection of the winners and found it interestingly difficult to pick the best," Saumarez Smith said.

"But, in the end, there was a unanimous decision."

Young Masters Art Prize 2014 Show all 21 1 /21 Young Masters Art Prize 2014 Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Untitled' 2013 mixed media on wood by Juergen Wolf Juergen Wolf Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Mother Won't Notice', 2013, C-type photograph by Marwane Pallas Marwane Pallas Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Lemon', 2013, C-type photograph by Saskia Boelsums Saskia Boelsums, Lemon, 2013, C-type photograph Saskia Boelsums Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Pair of Wall Sconces', 2014, ceramic by Matt Smith Matt Smith Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Blue and White Porcelain Shards, Flower No.3', 2014, porcelain by Zemer Peled Zemer Peled Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'David wearing an apron of David', 2014, Knitted textiles, silk by Alice Palmer Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Unforgiven', 2013, Photograph by Gillian Hyland Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Relic no.21 After Piers Wardle', 2011, Artificial flowers, wire, paint, bone by Chantal Powell Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Ophelia No. 5', 2013, C-Type Digital Print, Perspex mounted by Elisabeth Caren Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'The Empire of Light 02', Giclee print on baryta paper by Fabiano Parisi Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'The Agreement', C-type print on diabond in tray frame by Red Saunders Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Impropriety', 2014, oil in canvas by Eleanor Watson Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Balbuziendo', 2014, oil on canvas by Caterina Voltolini Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Hunting' 2014, Gouache and tea on paper by Anum Jamal Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Walking Drawings, Cumbrian Heavy Horses', 2014, lambda print by Everton Wright Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Take off the mask', 2014, Coloured Chalk Pastel on Paper by Oliver Jones Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Modern Rome', 2013, dried acrylic paint and torn caper collaged onto a postcard by Hannah Williamson Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Blunderer of the 13th Light', 2011, limited edition C-Type archive print by Nick Simpson Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Untitled #10', 2012, C-type print mounted on diasec by Johann Ryno de Wet Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Bridget', 2014, oil on linen by Christopher Stacey Young Masters Art Prize 2014 'Form 21' 2013, C-Type Lamda prints by Sophie Harris-Taylor

Saskia Boelsums and Marwane Pallas were highly commended and awarded an Artist's Collecting Society Prize of £500 for combining innovative skill with an awareness of art history.

The three winning artists will exhibit their work abroad as part of the 2015 Young Masters International Tour.

Elsewhere, British artist Matt Smith was awarded the inaugural Young Masters Maylis Grand Ceramics Prize for his awareness of the craft’s heritage and his "exceptional command of ceramics".

Smith also received £1,500 from an expert panel of judges, with Korean artist Jongjin Park and Israeli artist Zemer Peled both highly commended.

'Pair of Wall Sconces' by British ceramic artist Matt Smith (Matt Smith)

"We were looking for a young artist who successfully mixed the aesthetic and techniques of the past to re-invent a modern and vibrant work of art," Maylis Grand said.

"Matt Smith succeeded in creating several original pieces, which fitted the brief perfectly."