Sobey Art Award

Five finalists vying for a prestigious national prize tackle social and political issues.

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One of the fascinating aspects of art is that its significance changes with the spirit of the times. The meaning behind a painting or sculpture evolves not just through one’s lifetime, but sometimes even in a day. That’s one thing that makes artistic horse races so questionable.

Yet, competitions such as the Sobey Art Award, Canada’s leading prize for artists aged 40 or under – this year including an exhibition by the five finalists on view at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton until Jan. 5 – are extremely effective. 

Since its inception in 2002, this juried award has brought together regional artists, promoted discussions of up-and-coming trends, provided significant exposure and infused much-needed private funding into the arts. 

This year alone, $240,000 in prize money will be distributed, including the impressive $100,000 winner’s purse, which was awarded Nov. 15 to Ontario nominee Stephanie Comilang. 

In sum, while this award may not have the international clout of the Nobel Prize, it provides a total annual commitment of more than $650,000, including a new artist residency program. 

With such a staggering contribution, it’s no wonder that Edmonton residents are flocking to the show, hosted in Western Canada for the first time in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada, which organizes the award with the Sobey Art Foundation.

One surprise for visitors is the cornucopia of styles, which almost verge on cacophony. Specialization and fidelity to genre are gone – the finalists typically work with various blends of audio, video, installation and found objects, as well as conventional wall-mounted works. 

Another salient and welcome feature is the show’s emphasis on socially relevant content. All the artists provide sharp and meaningful insights into the diverse challenges facing contemporary society.

Comilang’s Come to Me, Paradise addresses the plight of Filipina migrant caregivers in Hong Kong. Comilang, who divides her time between Toronto and Berlin, projects her video inside a cardboard-clad installation that echoes the maze of temporary shelters the women construct for their only day off. Her tribute to their ingenuity juxtaposes vulnerability with resilience, and isolation with the uplifting power of community. 

Representing the Prairies and the North, Kablusiak, an Inuvialuk artist based in Calgary, tackles cultural displacement and misperceptions of indigineity with disarming wit. In the NorthMart print, the artist is draped in a crude Halloween ghost costume and is dwarfed by the wall of a big-box store. This oppressive setting belies Kablusiak’s upright stance and unflinching gaze. Urban Inuit may be unseen, suggests the print, but cultural power remains.

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Anne Low

Anne Low

installation view of the “Sobey Art Award Exhibition,” Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, 2019 (© Anne Low, courtesy the artist and Franz Kaka, Toronto; photo by Leroy Schulz)

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Anne Low

Anne Low

installation view of the “Sobey Art Award Exhibition,” Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, 2019 (© Anne Low, courtesy the artist and Franz Kaka, Toronto; photo by Leroy Schulz)

Montreal-based Anne Low, who represents the West Coast and Yukon, blends sculpture and textile in deceptively simple ways. Fragments of familiar household and architectural objects are scattered throughout the space. An old tire wrapped in a bag is stashed against one wall. With a careful reading of the label this perplexing work comes to light: the silk bag was laboriously dyed and hand woven by the artist. The tire, as with all of Low’s objects, is detached from familiar meanings and almost becomes a Zen koan.

Atlantic finalist D’Arcy Wilson provides a witty, even sarcastic, commentary lamenting the bizarre relationship of many Western naturalists to objects of study they love but often destroy. In The Memorialist: Museology, an inkjet print, this Newfoundland-based artist dresses in a museum-guide’s uniform and stands in front of glass displays packed with stuffed and labelled animals. She holds up an iPad featuring verdant and spacious images of nature. 

The reality of the award encourages even contest-averse viewers to ponder which artist they favour. While art doesn’t warrant five-star ratings – thankfully the gallery hasn’t installed “like” buttons – one body of work spoke to me with the clearest voice.

Quebec finalist Nicolas Grenier’s meticulously crafted oil and acrylic paintings, set in architectural spaces, contain a cohesive power that may be somewhat lacking in other displays.

Grenier, based in Montreal and Los Angeles, blends diagrams of power hierarchies and conceptions of socio-economic constructs with a remarkably poetic twist. His paintings seduce as they provoke. His political manifesto is empowered by beauty.  

While Grenier offers the broadest perspective on global issues, all five artists address urgent social concerns with clarity, depth and conviction. There is a remarkable absence of vague or solipsistic personal narratives. If these finalists can be said to represent current trends, then the future of Canadian art is in good hands. ■

The 2019 Sobey Art Award Exhibition is on view at the Art Gallery of Alberta from Oct. 5, 2019 to Jan. 5, 2010.

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