Adam Gunn one of 15 finalists in Canadian painting competition

Winner to be announced late September

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Adam Gunn

Gunn's "New God, Same as the Old God"

Haligonian painter Adam Gunn has been named one of 15 semi-finalists in the 2011 RCB Canadian Painting competition and is currently staring down the barrel of a purchase prize of $25,000 (or one of two honourable mention prizes of $15,000). The winner is announced on September 27, so send all your good reiki vibes his way.

Gunn paints otherworldy tableaux from flea market still lifes. “I aim for a lot of impact through exaggerated contrasts and colour,” says Gunn. “I hunt around at flea markets, yard sales, junk shops and dollar stores looking for things that could look good in a painting. I usually alter these things to make improbable figures---I aim to make them absurd enough that they can’t really fit into an existing genre. I try to achieve an overall balance of monstrousness, weirdness, pleasure and humor in each painting.”

Should Gunn win, he has his plan mapped out. “Renting a studio space outside my cramped apartment would be first on the list. I would put most of it back into my painting, but there are a few things that money could help with like replacing my aging computer. Some new socks would be nice too.”

After the winner is announced, the 15 paintings will be shown in the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Art Gallery of Hamilton and The Power Plant in Toronto. All finalists will be featured online at www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition.