Vanessa Maltese from Toronto Named Winner of the 14th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2012 /CNW/ - RBC and the Canadian Art Foundation, today announced Vanessa Maltese from Toronto, Ontario as the national winner of the 14th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition for her work entitled Balaclava. Vanessa will receive a $25,000 purchase prize for her work.

In addition, two honourable mentions were given to Betino Assa from Montreal, Quebec for his work Gathering in the forest 12 am and Katie Lyle from Vancouver, British Columbia for her work White Night. Betino and Katie were each awarded $15,000 for their work.

"Congratulations to this year's winners as they are tremendous examples of the kind of talent emerging from Canada's arts scene," said Robin Anthony, curator, RBC. "Through this competition, we have helped launch the careers of many of today's successful visual artists and are excited to continue to discover and promote promising new talent from across the country."

The paintings selected as the three finalists exemplified to the jury the breath and scope of what painters can achieve in today in terms of process, subject matter, aesthetic and temperament. The jury also stated that Maltese's winning painting demonstrated an assured vocabulary that encompassed both hard-edged and gestural forms. Balaclava stood out in its ability to reconcile depth and surface, pattern and illustration, material and subject, to create a dynamic, highly resolved composition.

In addition, the winning paintings of 2012 will join previous winning visual artists' works as part of RBC's corporate art collection, which holds more than 4,000 works of art collected over the past century.

"Each year, we are impressed by the amazing talent within Canada and faced with the difficult challenge of selecting our winners," said Ann Webb, executive director, Canadian Art Foundation and publisher, Canadian Art magazine. "The competition enables us to play an integral role in helping to develop and showcase the next generation of visual artists as they build their practice. Congratulations to all our finalists."

Submissions were accepted from professional, practicing, visual Canadian artists who are in the early stages (within first five years) of their careers. More than 500 artists submitted works for this year's competition, from which 15 finalists were chosen from across the country. The RBC Canadian Painting Competition was judged by some of the most respected artists, gallery directors and curators in Canada. For visuals and descriptions of the winning works, visit rbc.com/paintingcompetition.

All 15 finalists' paintings will be on exhibit at the Power Plant from November 29 to December 3, 2012 and will be featured in Canadian Art magazine and on the web at rbc.com/paintingcompetition and 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 emerging Canadian visual artists 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 purchase prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions will receive $15,000 each. Along with past winners, the winning paintings of 2012 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. Details and rules of the competition may be found at rbc.com/paintingcompetition.

About the Canadian Art Foundation
Canadian Art Foundation is the ultimate portal for the exposure of visual arts in Canada. All our efforts are dedicated to providing a destination for artists and art enthusiasts to connect and be inspired by art, in turn creating greater local, national and global visibility for the extraordinary artistic talent in Canada. Our diverse platforms and outreach include the publishing of Canadian Art and canadianart.ca, as well as the presentation of innovative events and educational programs. For more information about the Canadian Art Foundation, visit canadianart.ca/foundation.

Image with caption: "Vanessa Maltese, winner of the 2012 RBC Canadian Painting Competiton, and her work, Balaclava. (CNW Group/Canadian Art Foundation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121130_C5005_PHOTO_EN_21394.jpg

SOURCE: Canadian Art Foundation

Jackie Braden, RBC Brand Communications, [phone]
Raymond Chouinard, RBC Communications, [phone]