Kim Adams, Angela Grauerholz win $25K visual arts award

Sculptor Kim Adams, photographer Angela Grauerholz and painter Carol Wainio are three of the veteran Canadian artists being honoured with the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts.

Governor General David Johnston and the Canada Council for the Arts revealed the latest winners of the annual $25,000 prize today in Toronto.

"The work of these artists in the visual and media arts is well known and respected in Canada and abroad. I am pleased to honour each of the laureates for their achievements," Johnston said in a statement.

The full list of winners:

• Edmonton-born, Toronto-based sculptor Kim Adams, the internationally known artist known for his whimsical and fantastical creations that often combine car parts, model kits, miniatures and found objects to comment on themes such as street culture, consumerism and waste.
• British-born, Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist Max Dean, whose performances, videos and installations explore the relationship between an artwork, the artist and the spectator.
• Longtime Montreal writer, teacher and performance and installation artist Raymond Gervais, who combines music with text, photos and various objects in his work.
• German-born, Montreal photographer, designer and visual artist Angela Grauerholz, known internationally for creating ethereal, dream-like, images that challenge the boundaries of photography.
• Kelowna, B.C.-born, Vancouver artist Jayce Salloum, whose installation and photographic works blend text, drawing, performance and video into intimate and wide-ranging explorations of place, the notion of exile, ethnicity and identity.
• Sarnia, Ont.-born, Ottawa painter Carol Wainio, known for her layered, intricately detailed canvases that offer a unique narrative on a range of subjects charting the human experience: from fairy tales to historical moments to contemporary issues.

Weaver and longtime post-secondary teacher Sandra Brownlee (Dartmouth, N.S.) is the 2014 Saidye Bronfman Award winner for fine crafts. Meanwhile, Hamilton, Ont.-born, Ottawa-based curator Brydon Smith is being honoured for his outstanding contribution to the arts community.

"So much of the way we think about ourselves as Canadians is shaped by our artists," said Canada Council director Robert Sirman.

"The 2014 recipients of the Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts represent Canada at its best, and give us reason to celebrate."

The eight winners will receive their award medallions from Johnston during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on March 26.

A day later, the National Gallery in Ottawa will kick off an exhibit (running until July 6) featuring selected works by this year's winners.