Meet Concordia’s 4 new $50,000 Sobey Art Award nominees
"Not the one but there is no one else," 2013, by Mark Clintberg | Courtesy of the artist
UPDATE: On June 1, 2016, the jury for the Sobey Art Award announced its shortlist. Among the five finalists is Concordia alum Charles Stankievech (MFA 07).
Will a Concordia grad win the Sobey Art Award three years running?
On the heels of Abbas Akhavan (BFA, 04) taking home the Sobey last year, and Nadia Myre (MFA, 03) in 2014, four Concordia grads have been long listed for the prize, one of the largest in contemporary Canadian art. The names were announced this week.
The $50,000 Sobey Art Award is conferred annually to an established artist aged 40 or under. Nominees must have exhibited work in a public or commercial art gallery in the previous 18 months.
Since the award’s inception in 2002, 31 of the university’s students, visiting artists and alumni have been long listed. Akhavan and Myre joined Raphaëlle de Groot (2012), Daniel Barrow (2010) and Michel de Broin (2007), bringing the tally of Concordia winners to five.
There are 25 nominees — five per geographic region — for the 2016 prize. The short list will be announced June 1. Work by the short-listed artists will be exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada from October 6, 2016, to February 5, 2017. The winner of the 2016 Sobey Art Award will be announced at the gallery during a gala event in November 2016.
From opium-den installations to billboards, here’s a look at the work of Concordia’s 2016 Sobey Art Award nominees.
2016 Sobey Art Award nominees: 4 Concordia alums
Short-listed for the Sobey in 2013, Mark Clintberg (MA 08, PhD 13) is a conceptual artist who works in the field of art history, as well as curating exhibitions. He often incorporates neon tubing, text and large-scale signs into his art, which make possible multiple meanings and interpretations.
Clintberg earned his PhD in Art History at Concordia, where he was also an assistant professor. In his practice, Clintberg examines how private needs and engagements can be demonstrated in public space, and also how public space might invade the private sphere in a meaningful way.
He is represented by Pierre François Ouellette art contemporain in Montreal, and is an assistant professor at the School of Critical and Creative Studies at the Alberta College of Art and Design.
"Loveland," 2011, by Charles Stankievech | Courtesy of the artist
From sound installations to overtly political pieces, Charles Stankievech (MFA 07) works within the tradition of conceptual art. The multimedia practitioner recently attracted attention at the Venice Biennale 2015 for his billboard and text project called “Supercritical Decay."
Although based in Ontario now, in 2007, he was one of the founding faculty members of the experimental art college Yukon School of Visual Arts. As part of the curriculum, he created and curated the OVER THE WIRE project series that invites established artists to collaborate with students to produce new work under the restriction of long-distance communication.
"19th c. Kingfisher Silver Gilt Hairpin with Phoenixes and Blossoms," 2013, by Karen Tam. | Courtesy of the artist
Installations of opium dens, food videos, papier-mâché vases, postcards, textiles — you’ll find it all, and more, in the portfolio of Quebec-based artist Karen Tam, BFA (studio art) 00. Tam, who was a Sobey finalist in 2010, delves into her Chinese heritage, recreating and reclaiming rice bags, porcelain pieces, restaurants, placemats and matchbook covers.
Her solo exhibitions and residencies around the world point to a prolific production of video series, etchings, embossed and cut aluminum, installations and works on paper. Chinese culture runs through a sizable portion of Tam’s work, where she plays with the concept of “fake” versus “real,” and authenticity.
Last month, Tam was also selected as one of five finalists for the Contemporary Art Award, offered by the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ). The biennial honour is aimed at mid-career, Quebec-based artists who have been professionally exhibiting their work domestically and abroad for more than 10 years.
"blackflag fogo island," 2013, by Jerry Ropson | Courtesy of the artist
Maritime-based artist Jerry Ropson (MFA 09) exhibits widely across the country and beyond. His performative “slide-lecture” works and performance pieces have explored regional supernatural folklore, as well as challenged the interconnections between personal history, pop culture and contemporary art, drawing links between a childhood fascination with television sitcoms, religious ideals and performance art.
Ropson often incorporates text, to humorous and thoughtful effect. His broad practice includes painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, zines, multiples, stickers, miniatures, wall works, storytelling and performance. He teaches at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.
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