These four images are from the Royal Bank of Canada RBC Painting Competition, on their website. Four of the 16 national finalsts.They are--- Melanie Rocan, Winnipeg, "Small Town"; Kim Dorland, Toronto, "Fist Fight 6"; Nicholas Grenier, Montreal, "Rosemary"; Johnathan Johnston, Halifax, "Bridge Into Town 1"
14 comments:
I can't help it, but photo-realism rocks.
Such mastery, in a very precise way.
And a nice tight pink shit helps too (oops, did I say that out loud!?)
But really, I bet in person, Rocan's painting is dynamite. Her work is awesome. I hope she wins.
yeah, for sure.
i saw these and the 12 other finalists today at the MOCCA (museum of cdn contemporary art) in torontotown.
these were my 4 faves.
pjjygor
I find that most people tend to identify more with precise photo realism than with more abstract forms of art. But I think they are two very different forms of expression. Am I wrong?
You are correct that most people identify with photorealism, as per the statistically significant research studies of Komar and Melamid. The only country that didn't clearly choose a pretty blue sky'd landscape painting as their national favorite was Holland, a country steeped (and perhaps finally bored by) traditional painting.
As for what type of expression is communicated by a painting that is highly individualized. You could certainly have a sad realist or non-representational painting. As for the viewing of such work, it is also a personal matter, as some people might look for the formal qualities (use of colour/composition etc) in a realist painting, and many people look for images in abstract paintings. As for the Royal Bank, they probably look for potential market value =(.
In corporate art and modern galleries I think you will find more non-representational or highly abstracted paintings than realism, as formal values are now widely accepted (and in the case of corporations, less likely to irritate stock holders with that pesky 'literal meaning' of realism) .
Still for the average 'joe-art-looker' abstraction is a mysterious pursuit that perplexes and often frustrates them. Many people, when hearing that I'm an artist, still ask me how a simple abstract painting can be valuable/liked. I find great pleasure in initiating people into the joys of formal painting, so the question is always welcome.
Just last night someone brought up the "voice of fire" debate.
Who do you think will win the Royal Bank contest? If they are all at the same level in their career, i will put my money on the Rocan.
actually, as far as i can tell "market value" has little or nothing to do with how they choose the finalists. RBC is more interested in being viewed as a major patron of the arts then they are in whatever fiarly minimal resale value these works might have (minimal compared to their $600 million quarterly profits).
here's a list of the juries in each region--.
Eastern Canada
* Shauna McCabe, director, The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery, St. John’s
* Lilian Rodriguez, director and owner, Galerie Lilian Rodriguez, Montreal
* Eric Simon, artist and visiting professor in Concordia’s Studio Arts program, Montreal
Central Canada
* John Brown, artist, Toronto
* Barbara Fischer, director, Justina Barnicke Gallery, Toronto
* Patrizia Libralato, co-owner, Birch Libralato Gallery, Toronto
Western Canada
* Wayne Baerwaldt, director/curator, exhibitions at Alberta College Art & Design, Calgary
* Eleanor Bond, artist, Winnipeg
* Andy Sylvester, director and owner, Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
Don't kid yourself. The RBC may be interested in appearing as a 'patron of the arts', but it is surely part of their goal to bring home bigger profits.
On top of that, they annually collect the 3 best paintings from (upcoming?) artists in Canada. The current resale value is of little concern when you can afford sit on your big vault full of awesome art and wait for the market to improve (which of course happens best when someone dies, so it might be a few decades).
Also, they publicize the winners and ensure the paintings are worth more money right away. All they need to do is land a couple of the next Riopelle types early(He holds the record for the highest price ever paid for Canadian artwork. His abstract painting sold for $1.6 million and has probably gone up considerably since) and they have turned a pretty penny (not even mentioning what they might get for exhibiting the works over and over).
The list of worthy judges helps them make a good decision on what is good art, afterall, it is artists and the like (the like being curators and critics - barf! heh) who decide such things inevitably, so luckily we haven't been taken out of the equation alltogether. They can't have accountants picking the art, or they'd get all photorealistic landscapes. (I am such a contradiction, here I am mocking realistic landscapes, while I paint one =()
Don't get me wrong, it would be pretty sweet to get 10k dropped in your lap for a painting (even if the RBC writes it off in their taxes somehow) at an early stage in your career, and getting backed up by the RBC would be handy too. But i can't help to look on the matter with a touch of cynicism, considering the RBC is a big bad ass institution that has a history of being merciless (my personal history included). Even a 1.6 million dollar painting might seem like petty cash to the 600 mil. you (Lorne) mention, but it all adds up doesn't it? You have to be pretty opportunistic if you want to pull in the big bucks.
One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Hey, is anyone else going to make a guess who will win, lets do a little pool. I bet on Melanie Rocan, how about you?
Dil Hildebrand won the competition.
He is from the 'Peg and is now studying in Montreal.
I think Rocan will take it. I've seen the work of that Montreal guy Grenier at a party after a Madrigaia show and it was pretty good too, but I think Rocan's work is more engaging. This one reminds of her little water colours only clustered into a painting.And with a heavyweight like Eleanor Bond in her corner(her prof at Concordia) how can she lose?
Doh!
Well at least it went to a Winnipegger =)
Who is this Dil Guy, can anyone provide a link to his painting image?
And not to always be going back to this, but Lorne, did you by chance get permission to post these images somehow? =S
actuallly, macro, the highest price ever paid for a canadian painting is a work by paul kane, recently purchased by david loch (formerly of winnipeg) on behalf of his client, media baron kenneth thompson.
it went for 4.2 million. riopelle and the group of seven round out the top ten from there.
Well thanks. That proves my point even better. I just snatched that Riopelle bit off the net without much research, so it may have been true (or not)at one time I guess. Anyhow get a few 4.2 mil'ers in the collection and you're doing pretty good I'd say. And that's the thing with valuable art, its price is likely to just go up and up. In many ways art is a great investment. Even more so if you like to look at it. I have seen a signed Picasso print in a gallery in the exchange for a mere 3k, and an original Norval Morriseau at the Fleet Gallery for a mere 5k. I would have liked to buy both of those, but my waitering job wasn't providing quite enough to cover the costs. I guess I'll just have to wait till Courtnage, Culleton, and Morin's work skyrockets in value. =)
How do I get my hands on something by Denis? Do you take trades?
I am actually thinking of having a sale pretty soon to counter the costs of the new show that I am working on. I might take trades, but as I will probably be moving somewhere within the next year (don't know where, just somewhere else), I would hate to start accumulated even more stuff. If there is a piece on my blog that interest you (and all that money you're making in Asia) send me a message and we can discuss things. Same goes for anyone else who might want a Denis Prieur original, I am pretty poor right now, so it is probably a good time to buy.
wow, these are something else. nice stuff. yay royal bank. :p
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