Altmejd was chosen from a shortlist of 5 Canadian artists, including: for the Prairies and The North: Marcel Dzama; for Ontario: Shary Boyle; and for the Atlantic: Graeme Patterson.
The curatorial panel stated: "After spirited discussion the curatorial committee unanimously selected David Altmejd as the 2009 Sobey Art Award Winner. His singular vision is overwhelmingly present to the jury. Altmejd's sculpture represents the pursuit of metamorphosis and mutation as a means of releasing energy."
Altmejd's piece, "The Settler", is featured with selected work from the shortlisted artists in an exhibition hosted by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, running from September 5 to November 5 of 2009.
The 2009 Sobey Art Award Curatorial Panel comprises: Liz Wylie, Curator, Kelowna Art Gallery; Kitty Scott, Director, Visual Arts - The Banff Centre; Ivan Jurakic, Curator, Cambridge Galleries; Louise Déry, Director, Galerie de l'UQAM; Terry Graff, Curator & Deputy Director; Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
David Altmejd was born in Montréal in 1974. He lives and works in New York. He has degrees in visual art from UQAM (BA, 1998) and Columbia University (MFA, 2001). He has held solo exhibitions in Québec (Galerie de l'UQAM, 2007), Skol and Optica (2003), Clark (1998), B-312 (1999), in the United States (Andrea Rosen Gallery, since 2004), Gallery Met at the Metropolitan Opera House (2008) and in Europe (Stuart Shave/Modern Art, London, since 2006), the Magasin in Grenoble (2009) and the Fundació La Caixa Museum, Barcelone (2007). David Altmejd has participated in the Liverpool Biennial (2008), the Whitney Biennial (2004) and the Istanbul Biennale (2003) as well as in many important group shows: Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (2008), Guggenheim Bilbao (2008), Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver (2007-08), Kunsthalle Bonn (2007), Kunstmuseum Bern (2006), Museum Ludwig in Cologne (2006) and Kunsthalle Frankfurt (2005). Altmejd was representing Canada at the 2007 Venice Bi ennale where he has shown two monumental works: The Index (since now acquired by the Art Galllery of Ontario, ) and The Giant 2. David Altmejd has, in just a few years, attracted interest from contemporary art critics and specialists on the international scene. He is represented by the Andrea Rosen Gallery (New York) and Stuart Shave/Modern Art (London).
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