Figureworks 2022 Award winners

On October 27, 2022 we celebrated 29 artist finalists for Figureworks® 2022. This year the prize received 182 entries from 118 artists located across Canada, including photographs, sculptures, paintings, drawings, videos, and fibre art.

The Figureworks prize is evaluated by a jury of peer professional artists, curators and arts administrators representing a broad range of media and forms of art. This year our distinguished jury was composed of (from left to right in the photo above) Nic Cooper, Katherine Takpannie and Katherine McNenly.

First prize, Untitled 1 by Ruth Steinberg

Photo: Ruth Steinberg alongside her winning photograph Untitled 1.

The winner of the $2500 Figureworks 2022 Prize and a $200 Wallack's gift card is Untitled 1 by Ruth Steinberg. 

This photograph was described by the jury;

"A snapshot of humanity confronts the viewer, beautiful but faced with the reality of ageing. There is a warm vulnerability, enhanced by the lighting. The compositional structure draws us back to her and her life. There is an awareness of diminishing time and space, which has been accelerated in the last few years due to COVID."
— 2022 Figureworks Jury

"Part of an ongoing series, started in 2015, documenting the life of my (now) 98 year old mother."
—Ruth Stienberg

Honourable mentions

Figureworks 2022 had two runners up, each runner up received a $500 cash prize and a $150 Wallack's gift card.

Photo: Hilde Lambrechts (left), Figureworks founder alongside Colette Beardall (right) beside her Honourable mention sculpture Nightingale Whisper.

Nightingale Whisper

Colette Beardall, 2022, Red stoneware, multi fired with slips, glazes and rubbed with oxides, 12in x 10in x 6in

"This work has a haunting presence, with a strong affect. The physicality of the materials create a raw and vulnerable anguish in the figure. Symbolic elements are compelling and multi-layered."
— 2022 Figureworks Jury

"As the senseless war in Ukraine languishes, I imagine the soul leaving the inhabitants as they try to save their children, their identity, and their homeland. A nightingale (national animal of Ukraine) visits a young man to assure him the world is watching."
— Colette Beardall 

Photo: Past to Present by Anita Van Zeumeren

Past to Present

Anita Van Zeumeren, 2020, Oil on board, 12in x 24in

This piece reflects a salient, evident and achingly raw story of colonialism. The emotional impact is even felt through the technical achievement of trompe-l’œil. A very strong presence of acculturation is noted in the visual expression.
— 2022 Figureworks Jury

People's Choice Award

Since 2019 Figureworks has included a People's Choice Award. This year the people choose A Breath Above the Surface by Ava Margueritte. The people's choice recieved a $250 cash prize .

Photo: Ava Margueritte in front of her People's Choice photograph A Breath Above the Surface.

A Breath Above the Surface

Ava Margueritte, 2021, Pigment ink on photo rag paper, 24in x 24in

Living with dyslexia and CAP-D, has made it difficult to communicate my experiences. Self-portraiture has been a way for me to navigate my emotions through a visual diary. Examining the relationship between body and mind.
— Ava Margueritte

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! I encourage you to tale a look at the 2022 Gallery of finalists.

Finally a thank you to our Figureworks ® 2022 presenting sponsors, Wallack’s and Wallack Galleries. Wallack’s has a strong tradition of supporting the arts, supplying professional art supplies through their stores, and representing artists through their gallery. We would also like to thank Patrick Gordon Framing and Rothwell Gallery for their continued support.