Joseph Staples (in blue shirt, foreground) receives the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver's Emerging Artist's Prize from the CASV's Rachel Rosenfield Lafo on May 22, 2014. Some of his new real-estate-based works hang in the background.
The winner of the second Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver‘s Emerging Artist’s Prize is Joseph Staples.
Staples was awarded $3,000 at during the May 22 opening reception for the CASV Emerging Artist’s Prize Exhibition at Access Gallery in Vancouver.
Staples works with found images and photography through collage and printmaking. One of his most recent projects revolves around real estate, printmaking, failure and the unknown. Staples has exhibited locally at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Equinox Gallery, Wil Aballe Art Projects and Malaspina Printmakers.
The four other finalists for this year’s prize were Derya Akay, Byron Peters, Laura Piasta and Erdem Tasdelen, each of whom received a $500 award. The work of both the winner and finalists is on view through May 31 at Access Gallery.
The jurors who made the award decision were Vancouver Art Gallery curator Grant Arnold; artist and curator Vanessa Kwan; Macaulay & Co. director Sarah Macaulay; Access Gallery director/curator Kimberly Phillips; and Presentation House Gallery director/curator Reid Shier. The five finalists were chosen from a field of 89 entries.
This CASV Emerging Artist’s Prize was established in 2011 to encourage and support artists within the first five years of their careers, and it is the only prize of its kind in Vancouver selected through an open competition. The CASV is a not-for-profit membership-based organization founded in 1977 that focuses on promoting an appreciation and understanding of contemporary art.
