Toronto, January 19, 2016 – Orangeville artist Steven Volpe is this year’s recipient of the Laura Ciruls Painting Award. The $4,500 award is given annually to recognize an Ontario based mid-career painter.
Steven Volpe has a Fine Arts degree from Queen’s University as well as a background in art education and graphic design. His evocative figurative paintings lie somewhere between a parable and a snapshot, inviting thoughtful interpretation yet still retaining a comfortable and coherent plausibility. Incidental gestures derived from everyday life become larger than life as the artist assigns new identities to complete strangers.
Steven Volpe’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Galerie d’Avignon (Montreal, QC), the Bartlett Gallery and the Headwaters Arts Gallery at the Alton Mill Arts Centre (Caledon), the Art Gallery of Mississauga (Mississauga), the Beaux-Arts Gallery (Brampton), and will be showing at the Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place in Toronto in February. Steven is represented by Galerie d’Avignon, (Montreal, QC).
The jury members were unanimous in their selection and stated, “Steven Volpe’s paintings show a strong individual voice and his portraits tell us more than one story.”
The Laura Ciruls Painting Award was established by Laura Ciruls, a professional graphic and web designer, as well as an acrylic and watercolour painter. Through a bequest, Laura set up the Laura Ciruls Painting Award, to recognize artists like herself, who were contributing to the development of painting in Ontario.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the award. The Ontario Arts Council administers the nomination and selection process. The award was selected by a jury of visual artists comprised of R. Brendan Fernandes (Newmarket), Jennifer Lefort (Gatineau), Tor Lukasik-Foss (Hamilton), and Corwyn Lund (Toronto).
Previous recipients of the Laura Ciruls Painting Award include: Jinny Yu (2012), Andrew Rucklidge (2013), Melissa Doherty (2014), and Sasha Pierce (2015).
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Alan Walker |
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2014-2015, the OAF paid over $2.8 million in endowment income and $275,000 in awards and scholarships.
For more than 50 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. In 2014-2015 the OAC funded 1,709 individual artists and 1,078 organizations in 204 communities across Ontario for a total of $52.1 million.
Ce document existe ègalement en français.