RBC Canadian Painting Competition


The RBC Canadian Painting Competition was an open competition for emerging Canadian artists that was established in 1999. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition is supported by the Canadian Art Foundation, the publisher of Canadian Art (magazine). Initially naming three regional winners, since 2004 there were one national winner and two honourable mentions. The first two competitions had only winner and runner-up. The competition had 15 finalists, five from three regions in Canada, Eastern Canada, Central Canada, Western Canada. Three regional juries convened to determine one national winner and two honourable mentions from the 15 finalists. The national winner received a purchase prize of $25,000, the two honourable mentions each received $15,000 and the remaining 12 finalists receive $2,500 each. The winning work and the honourable mentions became part of the RBC Corporate Art Collection which holds more than 4,500 works. In 2016, 586 works were submitted. In 2008 an exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal provided an overview of the first ten years of the competition. The RBC concluded the RBC Canadian Painting Competition in 2019.

1999

Canadian Emerging Artist Prize

Jury

  • Bill Huffman
  • James Patten

2000

Canadian Emerging Artist Prize
  • Winner: Matthew Carver
  • Runner-up: Catherine Beaudette

Jury

  • Andrea Bolley
  • Gary Michael Dault
  • Bill Huffman
  • David P. Solcox
  • Carl Skelton
In 2001 the prize was renamed to RBC Canadian Painting Competition, and three regional winners were selected.

2001

Finalists

Western

  • Brigitte Dion
  • Kristina Kudryk
  • Sharron Labatt
  • Gwenessa Lam
  • Ben Reeves

Central

  • Mona Shahid
  • Patrice Stanley
  • Marian Wihak
  • Regina Williams
  • Shaan Syed

Eastern

  • Reneé Duval
  • Eric Le Ménédeu
  • Joanne Poirier
  • Fionnuala Reynolds
  • Joseph Siddiqi

Jury

Western

  • Robin Laurence
  • Tracey Lawrence
  • Christina Ritchie

Central

  • Gillian MacKay
  • Aaron Milrad
  • Pari Nadimi

Eastern

2002

Finalists

Western

Central

Eastern

  • Carmelo Blandino
  • Dennis Eksted
  • Camille Girard-Ruel
  • Asa Johnna Westin

Jury

Western

Central

  • Eliza Griffiths
  • Leo Kamen
  • Kitty Scott

Eastern

2003

Finalists

Western

Central

  • Martin Bennett
  • Jordan Broadworth
  • Chris Rogers
  • Shaan Syed
  • Pearl Van Geest

Eastern

  • Martin Brouillette
  • Peter Dykhuis
  • Caroline Gagnon
  • Robert Truszkowski
  • Marilyn McAvoy

Jury

Western

Central

  • Robin Metcalfe
  • Sarah Milroy
  • Kim Moodie
  • Joanne Tod

Eastern

Revised in 2004 to name five finalists per region, one national winner and two regional winners.

2004

Finalists

Western

Central

Eastern

  • Adele Chong
  • Jennifer Dorner
  • Patrick Lundeen
  • Andrea Mortson
  • Laurel Smith

Jury

Western

Central

  • Jan Allen
  • Will Gorlitz
  • Olga Korper

Eastern

  • Pierre Dorion
  • Gemey Kelly
  • Gordon Laurin

2005

Finalists

Western

  • Chris Millar
  • Matthew Brown
  • Holger Kalberg
  • Krisdy Shindler
  • Étienne Zack

Central

  • Chris Down
  • Jason Gringler
  • Meghan McKnight
  • Kristine Moran
  • Nick Ostoff

Eastern

  • Paul Berhardt
  • Yang Hong
  • Chris Kline
  • Wil Murray
  • Mathew Reichertz

Jury

Western

Central

  • Shirley Madill
  • Linda Book
  • Ben Reeves

Eastern

2006

Finalists

Western

Central

  • Adam Brickell
  • Kim Dorland
  • Martin Golland
  • Dax Morrison
  • Fançois Xavier Saint-Pierre

Eastern

  • Nicolas Grenier
  • Dil Hildebrand
  • Jonathan Johnson
  • Daniel Langevin
  • Luce Meunier

Jury

Western

Central

  • John Brown
  • Barbara Fischer
  • Patrizia Libralato

Eastern

  • Shauna McCabe
  • Lilian Rodriguez
  • Eric Simon
Naming one national winner and two honourable mentions rather than regional winners started in 2007

2007

Finalists

Western

Central

Eastern

  • Elizabeth Grant
  • Nam Nguyen
  • Aleksandra Rdest
  • Mélanie Rocan
  • Justin Stephens

Jury

Western

Central

Eastern

  • Peter Dykhuis
  • Pierre-François Ouelette
  • Michele Thériault

2008

Finalists

Western

  • Eli Bornowsky
  • Andrew Dadson
  • Jeremy Hof
  • Collin Johanson
  • Lorenzo Pepito

Central

  • Martin Golland
  • Sarah Jane Gorliz
  • Amanda Reeves
  • Drew Simpson
  • Emmy Skensved

Eastern

Jury

Western

  • Neil Campbell
  • Monte Clarke
  • Kitty Scott

Central

  • Jessica Bradley
  • James Lahey
  • David Liss

Eastern

  • James Baird
  • Loise Déry
  • Pierre Dorion

2009

Finalists

Western Canada

Central Canada

  • Sarah Cale – Toronto
  • Janice Colbert – Toronto
  • Scott Everingham – Toronto
  • Martin Golland – Toronto, ON for Residential Night Vulture
  • Sasha Pierce – Toronto, ON ''Brown''

Eastern Canada

  • Julie Beugin – Montreal
  • Anthony Burnham – Montreal
  • Pierre Durette – Montreal
  • Daniel Hutchinson – Halifax
  • Nathalie Thibault – Quebec

Jury

Western

Central

Eastern

2010

Finalists

Western

Central

  • Sarah Cale – Toronto
  • Scott Everingham – Toronto
  • Jon Reed – Toronto, ON for Stato di Impotenza
  • Mark Stebbins – Toronto, ON for Data Centers
  • Beth Stuart – Toronto

Eastern

  • Hugo Bergeron – Montreal
  • Scott Bertram – Halifax
  • Benjamin Klein – Montreal
  • Alexis Lavoie – Montreal, QC for Restants
  • Rick Leong – Montreal

Jury

Western

Central

  • Joe Friday, Ottawa collector
  • Joanne Tod, Toronto artist
  • Michael Gibson, director of Michael Gibson Gallery, London, ON

Eastern

2011

Finalists

Western Canada

  • Rebecca Brewer – Vancouver, BC for Beuys painting
  • Thomas Chisholm – Victoria, BC
  • Bitsy Knox – Vancouver, BC
  • Deirdre McAdams – Vancouver, BC for Blotto
  • Krisjanis Katkins-Gorsline – Winnipeg, MB

Central Canada

  • Jessica Groome – Guelph, ON
  • Tristram Lansdowne – Toronto, ON
  • Daniel Hutchinson – Toronto, ON
  • Kim Neudorf – London, ON
  • Beth Stuart – Toronto, ON for ''02, from Doppelbanger series''

Eastern Canada

  • Julie Trudel – Montreal, PQ
  • Amy Schissel – Gatineau, PQ
  • Jared Peters – Saint John, NB
  • Ianick Raymond – Montreal, PQ
  • Adam Gunn – Halifax, NS

Jury

Western

Central

  • Elizabeth Smith, Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
  • Christopher Cutts, Director, Christopher Cutts Gallery, Toronto
  • Patrick Howlett, Senior Artist, London

Eastern

2012

Finalists

  • Betino Assa – Montreal, QC
  • Ahbyah Baker – Vancouver
  • Thomas Chisholm – Victoria
  • Jordy Hamilton – Vancouver
  • Andrea Kastner – Edmonton
  • Katie Lyle – Vancouver, BC for ''White Night''

Central

  • Colin Muir Dorward – Ottawa
  • Aleksander Hardashnakov – Toronto
  • David Hucal – Guelph
  • Vanessa Maltese – Toronto, ON for Balaclava
  • Jenna Faye Powell.

Eastern

  • Betino Assa – Montreal for Gathering in the forest, 12 am
  • Philip Delisle
  • Nicolas Rancellucci
  • Corri-Lynn Tetz
  • Julie Trudel.

Jury

Western Canada
  • Sandra Meigs - Senior Artist and Professor of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, Victoria
  • Mark Mullin - Senior Artist, Calgary
  • Nigel Prince, executive director of the in Vancouver
Central Canada
  • Clint Roenisch - Founder, Clint Roenisch Gallery, Toronto
  • Jonathan Shaughnessy – associate curator, contemporary art at the
  • Monica Tap - Senior Artist and Associate Professor, University of Guelph, Guelph
Eastern Canada
  • Roger Bellemare - Gallery Director, Galerie Roger Bellemare, Montreal
  • Robin Metcalfe - Director and Curator, Saint Mary's University Art Gallery, Halifax
  • Janet Werner - Senior Artist, Montreal

2013

Finalists

Western Canada

  • Jessica Bell – Vancouver
  • Colleen Heslin – Vancouver for Almost young, wild and free, 2013
  • Brian Kokoska – Vancouver/New York
  • Rachelle Sawatsky – Vancouver/Los Angeles
  • Sean Weisgerber – Saskatoon

Central Canada

  • Jennifer Carvalho – Toronto
  • Colin Muir Dorward – Ottawa, ON for Labyrinthineon, 2012
  • Scott Everingham – Toronto
  • Laura Findlay – Guelph, Ont.
  • Neil Harrison – Toronto, ON for Fig.13 Knowledge, 2013

Eastern Canada

  • Brendan Flanagan – Montreal
  • Adam Gunn – Halifax
  • Nathaniel Hurtubise – Montreal
  • Jessica Mensch – Montreal/Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Aaron Weldon – Halifax

Jury

Western Canada

Central Canada

Eastern Canada

2014

Finalists

Western Canada

  • Ashleigh Bartlett – Calgary, AB for Ballet Duo
  • Ufuk Gueray - Winnipeg, MB for Market, 2014 B
  • Tiziana La Melia – Vancouver, BC for Hanging on to the part, 2014
  • Laura Piasta – Vancouver, BC
  • Robert Taite – Winnipeg, MB

Central Canada

  • Jennifer Carvalho – Toronto, ON
  • Wallis Cheung – Toronto, ON
  • James Gardner – Toronto, ON
  • Gavin Lynch – Ottawa, ON\
  • Megan McCabe – Toronto, ON

Eastern Canada

  • Carly Butler – Halifax, NS
  • Teto Elsiddique – Halifax, NS
  • Karine Fréchette – Montreal, QC
  • Nicolas Lachance – Montreal, QC index no. 3 The book of Empathy, 2014
  • Elysanne Tremblay – Montreal, QC

Jury

West

Central

East

2015

Finalists

Western

  • Tristan Unrau – Vancouver, BC
  • Robert Taite – Winnipeg, MB
  • Russell Leng – Vancouver, BC
  • Megan Hepburn – Vancouver, BC
  • Simon deBrée – Vancouver, BC/Stockholm, Sweden

Central

  • Jessica Bell - Ottawa, ON
  • Patrick Cruz – Guelph for Time allergy, 2015
  • Hanna Hur - Toronto, ON/Los Angeles, CA
  • Caroline Larsen - Toronto, ON
  • – Toronto, ON for My Contribution To The Many Paintings Of Pots And Plants, 2015

Eastern

  • Andrew Maize - Lunenberg, NS
  • John Player - Montreal, QC
  • Cindy Phenix - Montreal, QC
  • Paul Hardy - Montreal QC
  • Hangama Amiri – Halifax, NS Island of Dreams, 2015 Halifax, NS

Jury

East

Central

  • Iga Janik – Curator, Cambridge Galleries, Cambridge
  • Georgiana Uhlyarik - Associate Curator, Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto
  • Jinny Yu – Artist & Associate Professor, Department of Visual Arts, University of Ottawa, Ottawa

West

  • Eli Bornowsky – Artist, RBC Canadian Painting Competition Finalist, Vancouver
  • Garry Neil Kennedy – Senior Artist, Vancouver
  • Lisa Kehler – Director, Lisa Kehler Art + Projects, Winnipeg

2016

Finalists

Western

  • Cameron Forbes – Saskatoon, SK for Maritime Plaza Hotel, Window Set 2, 2016
  • Brian Hunter – Winnipeg, MB for Two empty trays mounted vertically, 2015
  • Brian Kokoska – Vancouver, BC/New York, NY for Dancing to the Silence of your Heartbeat, 2016
  • M.E. Sparks – Vancouver, BC for Afterimage, 2016
  • Angela Teng – Vancouver, BC for Jump Shot, 2016

Central

  • Wallis Cheung – Toronto, ON for Frame as void, 2016
  • Alex Fischer – Toronto, ON Pet, for Casper and Hesperi, 2016
  • Stephanie Hier – Toronto, ON for Break like the wind, 2015
  • Hanna Hur – Los Angeles, CA for The Fool, 2016
  • Keita Morimoto – Toronto, ON for Aya in Tokyo, 2015

Eastern

  • Nika Fontaine – Berlin, DE for Schnell Schnell, 2015
  • Andrew Maize – Lunenburg, NS for THIS TOWN USED TO BE MOSTLY WHITE. NOW IT IS COLOURFUL, 2016
  • Justine Skahan – Gatineau, QC for Home, 2016
  • Geetha Thurairajah – Sackville, NB for Hotlines, 2016
  • Ambera Wellmann – Guelph, ON for Wunde, 2015

Jury

Western Canada

  • Sophie Brodovitch - Director, Equinox Gallery, Vancouver
  • Tammi Campbell - Artist, Saskatoon
  • Reid Shier - Director/Curator, Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver

Central Canada

  • Kent Monkman - Artist, Toronto
  • Georgia Scherman - Director, Georgia Scherman Projects, Toronto
  • Beth Stuart - Artist & 2010 & 2011 RBC Canadian Painting Competition Alumni, Toronto

Eastern Canada

  • Gemey Kelly - Director/Curator, Owens Gallery, Mt. Allison University, Sackville
  • Harold Klunder - Artist, Montreal
  • Saelan Twerdy - Art Critic, Montreal

2017

Finalists

  • Michael Freeman Badour for Patrick's Boots, 2017
  • Amanda Boulos for Duckie Wants Water, 2017
  • Teto Elsiddique – Halifax, NS for neckrings, a breezy thing, 2017
  • Cindy Ji Hye Kim for Conspiracy Theory, 2017
  • David Kaarsemaker for Portage 1, 2017
  • Wei Li for Obsessiveness and excitement, never growing out of them, 2017
  • Laura Payne for Enneadec II, 2017
  • Veronika Pausova – Toronto, ON for Typography, 2017
  • Laura Rokas-Bérubé for Paint by Number 7, 2017
  • M.E. Sparks for Hollow Dog, 2017
  • Kizi Spielmann Rose for Sun and a Tide Pool, 2017
  • Angela Teng for Line Dance, 2016
  • Joani Tremblay The Lure of the Local Senses of Place in a Multicentered Society, 2017
  • Tristan Unrau for Nun, After Pasolini, 2017
  • Ambera Wellman – Guelph, ON for Temper Ripened, 2007

2018

Finalists

  • Amanda Boulos for In the Morning
  • Keiran Brennan Hinton for Hotel Room
  • Krystle Coughlin for Untitled
  • Sarah Davidson for the garden at night
  • Angela Fermor for Portrait 7, Torso
  • Karine Fréchette for Croissance 1
  • Stephanie Hier for Walnuts and pears you plant for your heirs
  • Ally McIntyre for Coyote
  • Emmanuel Osahor for Hiding Place
  • Lauren Pelc-McArthur for Trop Trop
  • geetha thurairajah or A complicated relationship with our past makes for better stories of a future
  • Kizi Spielmann Rose for Swallowtail
  • Joani Tremblay for The Mind at Three Miles an Hour
  • Tristan Unrau for Doggy Dog Afternoon
  • Joy Wong for ''Cotton and Cheese 1''

Jury

  • Natasha Chaykowski
  • Mark Igloliorte
  • Crystal Mowry
  • Erin Stump
  • Alexandra McIntosh
  • Julie Trudel
  • Cynthia Daignault