Alexis Lavoie of Montréal, Québec named the national winner in the 12th
annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition

$55,000 in total awarded to emerging Canadian artists

TORONTO, Sept. 30 /CNW/ - RBC, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, today announced Alexis Lavoie from Montréal as the national winner of the 12th annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition for his work entitled Restants. Alexis was awarded a $25,000 prize as the national winner.

"Each year the RBC Canadian Painting Competition showcases the extraordinary talent of emerging artists from across Canada," said Gay Mitchell, deputy chairman, RBC Wealth Management. "RBC is honoured to play a role in raising the awareness and appreciation of visual arts in this country and provide a forum for artists to display their work."

The winners were chosen from more than 600 works submitted by artists from across the country. The two honourable mentions were given to Jon Reed from Toronto for his work Stato di Impotenza and Mark Stebbins from Toronto for his work Data Centers. Jon and Mark were each awarded a $15,000 prize for their work.

"This annual competition opens doors for talented artists at a time in their career when they need it most," said Ann Webb, executive director, Canadian Art Foundation. "The award not only provides much needed financial support but also offers an outstanding opportunity for artists to exhibit their work at prominent art galleries across the country."

Submissions were accepted from professional, practicing, visual Canadian artists who are in the early stages (within first five years) of their careers. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition was judged by some of the most respected artists, gallery directors and curators in Canada. The list of finalists and their submitted works can be found at www.rbc.com/newsroom/2010/0712-painting.html.

All 15 paintings will be on exhibit at the Power Plant in Toronto from September 29 to October 3. The exhibition will then travel to Halifax where the artworks will be displayed at the Dalhousie Art Gallery from October 10 to 17, then make a stop in Cobourg, Ontario at the Art Gallery of Northumberland from October 26 to November 6, and finish in Calgary at the Art Gallery of Calgary from November 15 to 21.

All finalists will be featured in Canadian Art magazine and at www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition and www.canadianart.ca.

About the RBC Canadian Painting Competition

Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition is a tribute to Canada's artistic talent. The goal of the competition is to support and nurture Canadian visual artists early in their career by providing them with a forum to display their artistic talent to the country and hopefully open doors to future opportunity. An investment in Canadian culture and the visual arts community, the competition will award one national prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions will receive $15,000 each. Along with past winners, the winning paintings of 2010 will become part of RBC's Canadian art collection comprised of more than 4,000 works of distinguished art collected over the past hundred years. Various paintings from the RBC collection have been exhibited in museums, enabling more Canadians to enjoy these wonderful works.

For further information:

Media Contacts:
Jackie Braden, RBC Brand Communications, [phone]
Raymond Chouinard, RBC Communications, [phone]