Raphaëlle de Groot wins 2012 Sobey Art Award
The Curatorial Panel for the 2012 Sobey Art Award has chosen Raphaëlle de Groot as the recipient of the award. Raphaëlle de Groot represents the Québec region. The announcement was made during a gala event held at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) in Toronto and hosted by Karen Kain, Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada. The Award was presented to the winning artist by the 2011 Sobey winners, Young & Giroux.
The other shortlisted artists for this year’s Award were
• Gareth Moore – West Coast and Yukon;
• Jason de Haan – Prairies and the North;
• Derek Sullivan – Ontario;
• Eleanor King – Atlantic.
Each of these artists receives prize money from the Sobey Art Foundation.
In commenting on Raphaëlle de Groot’s achievement, the curatorial committee said:
“Raphaëlle de Groot makes artwork in varied contexts, most often outside of the conventional art world. This process affords her the opportunity to meet people from different milieus, such as a community of nuns, workers at a textile factory, domestic workers, and students. Through her practice, we are called on to be active witnesses, intrigued by what we see, disturbed by what we discover of ourselves and by what is revealed to us in this encounter with art and the artist in the present. Her projects take the shape of actions, objects, images, and documentation. De Groot’s practice explores and challenges ways in which art is created and received. Her work reinforces common values and shared human experiences.”
The 2012 Sobey Art Award Curatorial Panel consists of
• David Diviney, Curator of Exhibitions, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia;
• Louise Déry, Director, Galerie de l’UQAM, Université du Québec à Montréal;
• David Liss, Artistic Director and Curator, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art;
• Ryan Doherty, Curator, Southern Alberta Art Gallery;
• Bruce Grenville, Senior Curator, Vancouver Art Gallery.
Since its inception, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has organized and administered the Sobey Art Award and its accompanying exhibition. Every other year, the Award travels to a gallery or museum outside of Halifax.
The 2012 Sobey Art Award shortlist exhibition is on view at MOCCA until December 30, 2012.
About the Sobey Art Award
The Sobey Art Award, Canada’s preeminent award for contemporary art, was created in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist age 40 and under who has exhibited in a public or commercial art gallery within 18 months of being nominated.
Previous winners are Daniel Young and Christian Giroux (2011), Daniel Barrow (2010),
David Altmejd (2009), Tim Lee (2008), Michel de Broin (2007), Annie Pootoogook (2006),
Jean-Pierre Gauthier (2004) and Brian Jungen (2002).
About Raphaëlle de Groot
Raphaëlle de Groot was born in 1974 in Montreal, where she lives and works. She holds an MFA from the Université du Québec à Montréal (2006). Raphaëlle has presented her work actively in Canada and Europe since 1997. Her next plans will take place at the Festival cultural de Mayo Hospice Cabañas, Guadalajara, Mexico, and in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, for the Biennale national de sculpture contemporaine. Presently she works in collaboration with the Musée de la civilization (Quebec) and the Musée Colby-Curtis (Stanstead) for the project presented next fall with a solo show at Galerie Graff, Montreal. Winner of the Pierre-Ayot prize 2006 and a 2008 Sobey Art Award finalist, Raphaëlle de Groot was awarded the Prix Graff (14th edition) in 2011.
Media Contact:
Bernard Doucet, Director of Institutional Advancement, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
T 902 223 7246 / doucetbj [at] gov.ns.ca
Fayiaz Chunara, Head, Communications and Marketing, MOCCA
T 416 395 7490 / fchunara [at] mocca.ca
