PLASKETT AWARD TEN YEARS

The 2014 Joseph Plaskett Award Recipient is Announced!

The Joseph Plaskett Award celebrates “Ten Years of The Plaskett”

An exhibition of 10 former Plaskett Award Recipients, and a Symposium called Painting/Position/Place are to be held in Vancouver on May 9 and 10, 2014.

The Joseph Plaskett Foundation wishes to congratulate Collin Johanson of Montreal. Johanson will be awarded the eleventh $25,000 Joseph Plaskett Award during a special presentation to celebrate ten years of the Plaskett Award. The presentation, exhibition opening and reception will be held at the Equinox Gallery in Vancouver on Friday, May 9, 2014 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. The art community is invited.

The exhibition, titled Ten Years of the Plaskett, includes paintings by all former recipients: Julie Trudel (2013), Phil Delisle (2012), Jessica Groome (2011), Megan Hepburn (2010), Vitaly Medvedovsky (2009), Nam Duc Nguyen (2008), Todd Tremeer (2007), Ehryn Torrell (2006), Jennifer Lefort (2005), and Mark Neufeld (2004).



Equinox Gallery, 525 Great Northern Way, Vancouver, BC. Exhibition runs from May 9 to May 17, 2014.http://www.equinoxgallery.com/

Painting/Position/Place; A Symposium will be held the next day, on Saturday, May 10 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Emily Carr University of Art + Design on Granville Island (Room NB 245).

The symposium brings together eight artists and two writer-curators to examine the effect of place on artistic practices and positions, specifically in painting. Speakers include Ben Reeves, Jürgen Partenheimer, Landon Mackenzie and others. The symposium is held in conjunction with Emily Carr University’s 2014 Graduation Exhibition.

Both events are free and open to the public.



Collin Johanson, Installation at Battat Contemporary, 2013


Jury and Award Recipient

This year’s jury of respected artists was held in Winnipeg and included Mark Neufeld (Chair), Associate Professor at the University of Manitoba and recipient of the inaugural Plaskett Award; Paul Butler, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and Eleanor Bond, Associate Professor at Concordia University and renowned Winnipeg based artist.

The jury unanimously recommended Collin Johanson who presented a strong body of expressive abstract paintings. While rooted in European Modernism, his paintings investigate approaches to abstraction while personal elements acknowledge contemporary preoccupations with the subject.

Paul Butler complimented Johanson’s commitment to his practice and noted “there is a joy that comes through painting, which comes from tireless experimentation and pushes the boundaries of painting”.

Collin Johanson graduated from Emily Carr University in 2004 with a B.F.A. and from Concordia University in 2013 with a M.F.A.

Johanson has already begun to receive attention. Notably he was a semi-finalist for the RBC Painting Competition (2008) and included in several group shows since 2005 including “Pulp Fiction” at Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art in Toronto and Museum London. He has presented solo exhibitions at Access and LES Gallery in Vancouver. Most recently he presented his work in the group show, A Process of Recognition, at Battat Contemporary in Montreal.

Johanson intends to base himself in Berlin while also taking time to visit the museums in Paris. His award will be also announced during the 135th Annual General Assembly of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) to be held in Edmonton on May 17th in front of many leading Canadian artists, architects, designers and craft-makers.


Background and the Award

Joseph Plaskett (1918- ), the British Columbia-born Canadian artist, has lived and painted in Paris and the UK. He established the Plaskett Foundation in 2004 to support a Canadian MFA student or recent graduate to travel, practice or study in Europe for one year and to “enjoy the privileges I experienced more than a half century ago”. Mr Plaskett is now in his 97th year and his generous prize is well established with a legacy of outstanding juries and recipients.

Administered in a partnership between the Joseph Plaskett Foundation and the RCA, each year the Foundation appoints three Canadian artists of significant reputation to the jury and the final process occurs in a different Canadian city.


Enquiries beyond the “Q and A” section of the Plaskett website can be sent to the RCA at 401 Richmond West, Suite 375, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8.  rcaarts@interlog.com

For more information on the prize guidelines and the Ten Years of the Plaskett events, please visit:
www.joeplaskett.com


Next deadline: April 15, 2015