The 2010 Sobey Art Award Longlist

With spring blowing warm into my open studio door and bringing a fresh wave of bees and flies with it, it looks like it’s also time to kick off the slow march towards the 2010 Sobey Art Award with yesterday’s announcement (via Akimbo, anyway) of the longlist.

I took on the sport of trying to pick the shortlist around this time last year on something of a bored lark, but given that I managed to nail four out of five (and seriously, it would’ve been five if I hadn’t tried to be clever bypassing Marcel Dzama for Jon Pylypchuk) I figure it’s worth another try this year with all my usual flighty subjectivity.

West Coast and Yukon: Mark Soo, Kevin Schmidt, Isabelle Pauwels, Jeremy Shaw, Brendan Lee Satish Tang

Jeremy Shaw Expo 86 Logo (Black) 2009 Installation view Courtesy Jeremy Shaw and Presentation House Gallery. (Source: canadianart.ca)

It’s great to see Brendan Lee Satish Tang’s work represented here - it’s highly skilled, historically engaging and fun all at once, but it’s too much the odd player out among this video-installation dominated crowd. As a pack, they feel like an indifferent group so I’m going to go for the more distinct character of Jeremy Shaw’s work, especially in light of his Expo 86 interventions during the Olympics.

Praries and the North: Daniel Barrow, Wally Dion, Heather Benning, The Cedar Tavern Singers, Robyn Moody

Robyn Moody, TARDIS, 2006, audio, mechanics, electronics. (Source: voir.ca)

Between Wally Dion and Heather Benning, there’s a surprising amount of conservative realism in this group that I don’t think will quite hold its own against the likes of previous nominee Daniel Barrow. He’s probably the safe bet this time around too, but I clearly have a weakness for the work of fellow Doctor Who dorks, because I think Robyn Moody is far more deserving of that spot on the shortlist.

Ontario: Diane Borsato, Aleesa Cohene, Brendan Fernandes, Will Munro, Jon Sasaki

Brendan Fernandes, Performing Foe, 2009. (Source: brendanfernandes.ca)

There’s a few popular choices in this grouping, though I’m every bit as confounded by the names that aren’t listed here - given the number of multiple nominees in the short history of this thing, any of last year’s exceptional Ontario longlist could have done with another shot at the prize this year (especially my girl Shary Boyle, who was my choice to win last year over David Altmejd). I could belabour the merits of each of these artists, but I think the most forward-looking choice by far would have to be Brendan Fernandes.

Québec: Pascal Grandmaison, Patrick Bernatchez, BGL, Adad Hannah, Karen Tam

BGL, Good Night Darthy, 2006, Mixed media. (Source: parisianlaundry.com)

Both Grandmaison and Hannah were on this list last year. However, neither stood a chance in hell against Altmejd, and I’m still not that wild about their odds this year either, if only because both seem so painfully safe in my eyes. For the sake of something every bit as pleasurable as Tang’s ceramics but with a better chance of winning, I’m going with my sci-fi-loving bias and BGL.

Atlantic: Lucie Chan, Graeme Patterson, Mario Doucette, Vanessa Paschakarnis, Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby

Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, Reanimating the Universe with Basic Breathing Exercises, 2008. (Image courtesy upArt Contemporary Art Fair.)

Graeme Patterson was part of this list last year, was mine and the jury’s choice for the shortlist, but he didn’t win the prize and he won’t this year either. It’s a far more competitive Atlantic field this time around, and I’m particularly fond of Lucie Chan’s intricate drawing/collage practice and 2008 shortlister Mario Doucette’s paintings, but of this lot it really has to be Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby.

The shortlist for the 2010 Sobey Art Award will be announced on June 15, 2010, with the winner of the $50,000 award to be announced during a gala event at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal on November 18, 2010.

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