The Galerie de l'UQAM in Montreal is the recipient of the 2010 York Wilson Endowment Award, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. Thanks to the $30,000 prize, which is being awarded to a Quebec institution for the first time, the Galerie will acquire the sculpture Loup-garou 1 by David Altmejd.
The York Wilson Endowment Award, created in 1997, is given annually to an eligible Canadian art museum or public gallery to assist with the purchase of an original artwork by a Canadian artist that will significantly enhance its collection. The award, which is the result of gifts of more than $600,000 from Lela Wilson and the late Maxwell Henderson, honours the contribution of Canadian painter York Wilson by assisting Canadian institutions to acquire works by living Canadian painters and sculptors.
David Altmejd first began using the werewolf motif in the late 1990s when he was looking for a different way of representing the human body. The sculpture Loup-garou 1 was the first of his works to explore this mythical figure, and was shown at the Galerie de l'UQAM in 2000. It was created in mixed media including wood, paint, synthetic hair and plexiglas.
Download images of Mr. Altmejd and his work.
"The Galerie de l'UQAM is thrilled to be able to acquire a major Canadian work," said gallery director Louise Déry, a work, moreover, by an artist whose fame she has contributed to by presenting him at the Venice Biennale in 2007. Mr. Altmejd's star has continued to rise and his work is now included in a number of international collections. With the acquisition of this work, the gallery will continue to promote David Altmejd, an UQAM alumnus, while enriching its own collection. The first werewolf will always be significant in the development of his career and it is a great coup to be able to purchase it."
The peer assessment committee was made up of Jan Allen, Head Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art, Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston, Ont.); Ingrid Jenkner, Director and Curator of the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery (Halifax); and Stuart Reid, Executive Director of the MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina).
The Galerie de l'UQAM is the Université du Québec à Montréal's gallery that produces and presents exhibitions of contemporary Quebec, Canadian and international art, most of them organized by recognized curators. It explores a variety of issues connected with the work of professional artists, while remaining open to emerging currents and the work of students in the visual and media arts, art history and museology. It facilitates the research and editing of high quality specialized publications, manages a program of public activities and circulates exhibitions in Canada and abroad. It also has a mandate to conserve, manage and present the collection of art works of UQAM. Located in the heart of Montreal and its Latin Quarter, surrounded by museums, artist-run centres, libraries, theatres, cinemas and cafes, the gallery attracts a clientele of students, specialists and the general public of the downtown area.
Montreal native David Altmejd has degrees in visual arts from Université du Québec à Montréal (Bachelor of Arts, 1998) and Columbia University (Master of Fine Arts, 2001). He has exhibited in Quebec (notably at the Galerie de l'UQAM in 2001 and in 2007), the United States and Europe. In just a few years, he caught the attention of the international scene by representing Canada at the Venice Biennale in 2007 and participating in the biennales of Istanbul (2003) and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York (2004). His works have been acquired by the Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum, the Denver Museum, etc. He is represented by Andrea Rosen Gallery (New York) and Stuart Shave (London). He lives and works in New York.
In addition to its principal role of promoting and fostering the arts, the Canada Council for the Arts administers and awards many prizes and fellowships in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural and health sciences, engineering, and arts management. These prizes and fellowships recognize the achievements of outstanding Canadian artists, scholars, and administrators. The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to raising public awareness and celebration of these exceptional people and organizations on both a national and international level.
Find a complete listing of these awards.
Carole Breton
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Heather McAfee
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Galerie de l'UQAM
www.galerie.uqam.ca
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galerie@uqam.ca
