| A Calgary artist has been named as a finalist in the fourth annual New Canadian Painting Competition.
Painter Chris Bennett, a graduate of the Alberta College of Art and Design, was named one of five Western Canadian finalists for his entry, Big and Small.
The competition was set up to recognize emerging painters throughout the country. Other finalists in Western Canada include Bernadette Phan, Séamus Kealy and Holgar Kalberg, all of Vancouver, as well as Brigitte Dion of Winnipeg. The competition winner was announced in an event that took place after Fast Forward went to press.
Bennett was born in England, but moved to Calgary in 1975. He has taken part in many exhibits around Calgary and is currently exhibiting at the Paul Kuhn Gallery. He is known for basing his work on abstraction and photography, and using slide projectors and randomly placed strings to project images onto his canvases.
The competition was established in 1999 and presents awards to three Canadian artists representing Eastern, Central and Western Canada.
Each winner receives $5,000, which sponsor RBC Investments offers as a purchase price on the winning paintings for its Canadian art collection.
The winners are chosen by a jury that, in Western Canada, included Catherine Crowston from the Edmonton Art Gallery, painter and Stride Gallery co-founder Mary Scott and painter Chris Cran.
Whoever wins the prize also gets exposure within the Canadian art community. Last year’s winners, for example, were featured in the winter edition of Canadian Art magazine.
More than 1,000 entries were submitted for judging in this year’s competition. The winning work will be on display in Calgary at the Trepanier Baer Gallery (999 - 8 St. S.W.) until October 5. |
