News Releases
The national winner and 12 regional winners of the 1st Art! Student Art Competition were announced today by the event's sponsor, BMO Financial Group.
The 1st Art! Competition provides a truly national platform to celebrate and support the work of top student artists from more than 100 post-secondary education institutions across Canada. Deans and instructors of studio art programs were invited to select three students from their graduating classes, whose ability and imagination placed them 1st among their peers. A national winner and one winner from each eligible province and territory were chosen from 126 entrants.
"The 13 successful candidates for 2004 vividly demonstrate the excellence and promise of Canada's newest generation of artists," said Dawn Cain, Curator for the BMO Financial Group Corporate Art Collection. "This is our second year running the competition and our selection committee continued to be extremely impressed by the quality and variety of the entries. This is a great way to highlight the depth of talent and creativity of Canada's newest generation of artists."
The national winner receives $2,500 and regional winners each receive $1,000 for their submission. The winning artwork will be displayed in BMO offices from coast to coast, joining a distinguished corporate art collection that includes the work of well known historical and contemporary Canadian masters such as Kenojuak Ashevak, Emily Carr, Tom Forestall, Marc-Aurèle Fortin, Lawren Harris, and many others.
The 1st Art! winners' work will be on display in the First Canadian Place Gallery, Toronto. The opening reception for the 1st Art! Exhibition is tonight, Wednesday, September 29, starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. The 1st Art! Exhibition runs until October 15, 2004 after which the artwork will be displayed in BMO offices from coast to coast.
1st Art! Selection Committee for 2004
- Melanie O'Brian, Director/Curator of Artspeak Gallery in Vancouver and independent writer and curator
- Marshall Webb, Upper Canada College Teacher and avid collector with recognized collection
- Joanne Tod (A.O.C.A, R.C.A.) Toronto artist and lecturer, whom has exhibited her work for twenty years, both nationally and internationally
- Michel Viau, RGD, President of Ove Design & Communications Ltd. has been credited with redefining the role of the design firm in the creation of strategic branding and communications programs for a diverse range of corporate clients
- Gilles G. Ouellette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Private Client Group, BMO Financial Group, and Deputy Chairman, BMO Nesbitt Burns, strong supporter of the arts and avid collector
- Dawn Cain, Ph.D., ISA, Curator of the BMO Financial Group Corporate Art Collection and the Malcove Collection, University of Toronto Art Centre; and ISA accredited appraiser
List of 1st Art! Winners for 2004
National Winner
Matt Shane, Delta, British Columbia
University of Victoria
Rhizome, 2004
Ink, acrylic paint, pencil on board
96" x 48" (8' x 4')
Regional Winners
Jeanette Parker, Calgary, Alberta
University of Calgary
Untitled
Acrylic, oil, spray paint, and collage on canvas
Diptych, two panels each 40" x 30"
Ryan Peter, Nelson, British Columbia
University of British Columbia
Deathring
Oil on plywood
18" x 30"
Mathias Reeve, Winnipeg, Manitoa
University of Manitoba
Untitled, #1, Higgins Series (3 AM January February 2004)
Colour photograph, C print
19 ¾" x 19 ¾"
Maryjane Gorham, Fredericton, New Brunswick
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design
Modular Light
Photograph
16" x 16"
Alyssa Andrews, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College
Untitled (From the Beet Juice series)
Photograph, type C print
11" x 14"
Jonathan Knowles, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Sometimes, Always, 2004
Acrylic on paper
70" x 105"
Pootoogook Qiatsuk, Iqualuit, Nunavut
Nunavut Arctic College
Our Dream
Linoprint
17 ½" x 19"
Ricki Oltean-Lepp, Harrow, Ontario
University of Waterloo
To: From #3 (March 2004)
Oil on canvas
50" x 60"
Daniel Rashed, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Holland College
Hard Cover
Digital media on paper
12" x 14.5"
Annie Conceicao-Rivet, Montréal, Qubec
Université du Québec à Montréal
One Room, One Scene, One Genre
Lithography, serigraphy, relief engraving, digital printing, and embossing
Series of three images, each 14" x 13" (13" x 47" total)
Cheryl Andrist, Estevan, Saskatchewan
University of Regina
The Coliseum
Etching with silver ink on black paper
22"x 24"
Florian Boulais, Dawson City, Yukon
Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture
Untitled (2/10)
Computer design with Illustrator, Photoshop, and digital camera
Three poster format, each 11 ¾" x 16 ½"
-30-
National Winner with BMO Financial Group’s Tony Comper and Dawn Cain
(left) Tony Comper, President and CEO, BMO Financial Group; (middle) Dawn Cain, Ph.D., ISA, Curator of the BMO Financial Group Corporate Art Collection and the Malcove Collection, University of Toronto Art Centre; and ISA accredited appraiser with Matt Shane, National Winner, Delta, BC, University of Victoria
National and Regional Winners
(left to right) Cheryl Andrist, SK; Daniel Rashed, PEI; Mathias Reeve, MB; Ricki Oltean-Lepp, ON; Alyssa Andrews, Nfld; Jeanette Parker, AB; Ryan Peter, BC; Matt Shane, BC [national winner] and Dawn Cain, Ph.D., ISA, Curator of the BMO Financial Group Corporate Art Collection and the Malcove Collection, University of Toronto Art Centre; and ISA accredited appraiser