Winners of the 2024 Tanabe Prize for BC Painters Announced

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l. Aubin Soonhwan Kwon, “Saccharine Biased,” 2023, watercolour, inkjet spray on vinyl wood; r. Sandra Smolski, “I Miss You,” 2023

acrylic and oil on canvas, 64" x 78.5 "

The eighth annual Tanabe Prize for British Columbia Painters has been awarded to Sandra Smolski and Aubin Soonhwan Kwon.

The Tanabe Prize is given to B.C. artists whose primary medium is painting. Sandra Smolski has been named as the 2024 emerging artist and Aubin Soonhwan Kwon has been chosen as this year's mid-career artist.

Each will receive $15,000. The prize is administered by the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

Based in Vancouver, Smolski investigates themes of formal diversity and the elasticity of visual language in her work. She will complete her bachelor of fine arts degree from Emily Carr University ithis year. 

“She brings a level of maturity to her painting that is exceptional for an undergraduate student and we are thrilled to support her career through the Tanabe Prize,” stated the selection committee in the news release.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Kwon grew up in Alberta and was the co-founder of the gallery, dreams comma delta, in Vancouver in 2022.

“Part of the strength of Aubin Soonhwan Kwon’s paintings come from their ability to feel intimate and personal, while at the same time relevant and meaningful to the way many of us navigate the contemporary world,” said the selection committee in the news release. “References to household objects and interior settings ground his work, alongside elements of humour. Viewers are drawn in, in subtle ways, and then have the space to think about larger concerns around identity and place.”   

The winners were selected by contemporary art curators connected to art museums and galleries in British Columbia. Names of the selectors are kept confidential and there is no application process for either the curators or artists.

The prize is named in honour of Vancouver Island artist Takao Tanabe, whose honours include being named a member of the Order of Canada in 1999 and winning the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts in 2013. 

Source: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

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