Vanessa Maltese from Toronto Named Winner of
the 14th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition
Vanessa Maltese, winner of the 2012 RBC
Canadian Painting Competiton, and her work, Balaclava.
TORONTO, November 30, 2012 - RBC and the Canadian
Art Foundation, today announced Vanessa Maltese from Toronto,
Ontario as the national winner of the 14th Annual RBC Canadian
Painting Competition for her work entitled Balaclava.
Vanessa will receive a $25,000 purchase prize for her work.
In addition, two honourable mentions were given to Betino
Assa from Montreal, Quebec for his work Gathering in the
forest 12 am and Katie Lyle from Vancouver, British Columbia
for her work White Night. Betino and Katie were each
awarded $15,000 for their work.
RBC's George Lewis (centre) along with The New Yorker's Adam Gopnik (far right) congratulate the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competiton winners (left to right) Katie Lyle, Vanessa Maltese and Betino Assa.
"Congratulations to this year's winners as they are
tremendous examples of the kind of talent emerging from Canada's
arts scene," said Robin Anthony, curator, RBC. "Through
this competition, we have helped launch the careers of many
of today's successful visual artists and are excited to continue
to discover and promote promising new talent from across the
country."
The paintings selected as the three finalists exemplified
to the jury the breath and scope of what painters can achieve
in today in terms of process, subject matter, aesthetic and
temperament. The jury also stated that Maltese's winning painting
demonstrated an assured vocabulary that encompassed both hard-edged
and gestural forms. Balaclava stood out in its ability to
reconcile depth and surface, pattern and illustration, material
and subject, to create a dynamic, highly resolved composition.
In addition, the winning paintings of 2012 will join previous
winning visual artists' works as part of RBC's corporate art
collection, which holds more than 4,000 works of art collected
over the past century.
"Each year, we are impressed by the amazing talent within
Canada and faced with the difficult challenge of selecting
our winners," said Ann Webb, executive director, Canadian
Art Foundation and publisher, Canadian Art magazine. "The
competition enables us to play an integral role in helping
to develop and showcase the next generation of visual artists
as they build their practice. Congratulations to all our finalists."
Submissions were accepted from professional, practicing,
visual Canadian artists who are in the early stages (within
first five years) of their careers. More than 500 artists
submitted works for this year's competition, from which 15
finalists were chosen from across the country. The RBC Canadian
Painting Competition was judged by some of the most respected
artists, gallery directors and curators in Canada. For visuals
and descriptions of the winning works, visit rbc.com/paintingcompetition.
All 15 finalists' paintings will be on exhibit at the Power
Plant from November 29 to December 3, 2012 and will be featured
in Canadian Art magazine and on the web at rbc.com/paintingcompetition
and canadianart.ca.
About the RBC Canadian Painting Competition
Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition
is a tribute to Canada's artistic talent. The goal of the
competition is to support and nurture emerging Canadian visual
artists by providing them with a forum to display their artistic
talent to the country and hopefully open doors to future opportunity.
An investment in Canadian culture and the visual arts community,
the competition will award one national purchase prize of
$25,000 and two honourable mentions will receive $15,000 each.
Along with past winners, the winning paintings of 2012 will
become part of RBC's Canadian art collection comprised of
more than 4,000 works of distinguished art collected over
the past hundred years. Various paintings from the RBC collection
have been exhibited in museums, enabling more Canadians to
enjoy these wonderful works. Details and rules of the competition
may be found at rbc.com/paintingcompetition.
About the Canadian Art Foundation
Canadian Art Foundation is the ultimate portal for the exposure
of visual arts in Canada. All our efforts are dedicated to
providing a destination for artists and art enthusiasts to
connect and be inspired by art, in turn creating greater local,
national and global visibility for the extraordinary artistic
talent in Canada. Our diverse platforms and outreach include
the publishing of Canadian Art and canadianart.ca, as well
as the presentation of innovative events and educational programs.
For more information about the Canadian Art Foundation, visit
canadianart.ca/foundation.
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For more information, please contact: :
Jackie Braden,
RBC Brand Communications, (416) 974-1724
Raymond Chouinard,
RBC Communications, (514) 874-6556
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