Short list out for $50,000 Sobey prize

Five young Canadian artists from across the country have been shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award.

Organizers of the biennial prize announced the short list Thursday, after a panel of curatorial advisors pared down the list of nominees from the long list of 25 announced in November.

The finalists, each selected from one of five regions in Canada, are:

• Vancouver-based Steven Shearer, a multimedia artist whose paintings, collages, sculptures and installations have examined the themes of adolescent culture and the 1970s.
• Cape Dorset illustrator Annie Pootoogook, a third-generation Inuit artist whose contemporary drawings reflect aspects of modern-day life in the North.
• Don Mills, Ont.-born Janice Kerbel, an installation artist now based in London, England. Her work, which makes use of digital technology, has explored the themes of criminality and persuasion.
• Quebec City-based collective BGL, comprising artists Jasmin Bilodeau, Sebastien Giguere and Nicolas Laverdiere, whose installations often deal with nature, the environment and social issues.
• Halifax painter Mathew Reichertz, a runner-up for last year's RBC national painting prize and faculty member at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.

The winner of the $50,000 prize will be announced in November.

Established by businessman and art patron Donald Sobey in 2001, the award celebrates contemporary Canadian artists under the age of 40, with the cash prize designed to allow the winner to focus on creating his or her art.