CUAA Fine Arts Prize Winners 2023
Annual prize awarded to graduating fine arts students by the Concordia University Alumni Association
Lilianna White (Studio Arts)
No Impurity – Only Divinely Masochistic Grace, sculpture
The piece comprises a chair perverted into the form of a kneeling figure, along with a large spine cast in bronze. Created as an organic burnout, the bronze invokes the tension of impermanence, as the original felted spine was incinerated and ceases to exist. Illuminated by a spotlight, the piece is left vulnerable to perception.
No Impurity – Only Divinely Masochistic Grace, by Lilianna White, BFA 23
AS IC AN, 2023 by Brandon A. Dalmer, MFA 23
Brandon A. Dalmer (Studio Arts)
AS IC AN, 2023, painting
Understanding the labor required to produce these images. The painterly aesthetic varies, from exaggerated brush strokes, to a flatness of the surface intended to simulate the black mirror. Vibrant in both color and application of paint—they convey both a synthetic and uniquely human aesthetic. This means of analog production seeks collaboration with the machine rather than replacement, contrasting the potential future of fully-automated manufacturing to come.
Sit Still, by Leila Riddell, BFA 23
Leila Riddell (Art Education)
Sit Still, sculptural installation
This piece is both a protest against the phrase and a physical representation of how it manifested inside me. The words “sit still” are repeated 20 times, one for each year I have been in school. This piece is hung at eye level and drips down the wall and onto the floor. The bottom tiles fade into a mossy green (moonellis glaze) to represent that while I no longer repeat these words to myself as much, they have been permanently engraved internally.
Fanjing Xu (Film Production)
Hide and Seek, short film
Through my work, I aim to make intangible emotions visible by creating immersive worlds that offer unique experiences and perspectives to audiences. I challenged the low budget short horror film during the COVID-19 period. A game of hide-and-seek begins with an unknown message.
A still from Hide and Seek, by Fanjing Xu, BFA 23
Honorable mentions
Kimberly Orjuela
Roots and Spirits, clay sculpture
J. Authur Ramonda
The Easel Lamp, sculpture of a lamp made with found objects
Emerson Sanderson
Closet Series, photography