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Grade 12 art now on view in Emerging Talent 22

The best paintings, photos & sculptures from SD43 seniors
emerging talent

Courtney Abbott-Brown feels especially proud.

Of the three photos she submitted for Emerging Talent 22 — the annual visual arts show at Coquitlam’s Art Gallery at Evergreen, displaying the best paintings, digital pictures, graphic arts, sculptures and multi-media from Grade 12 students in School District 43 — the image of her friend, Brandon, got picked to hang on the walls.

Abbott-Brown remembers the day she captured him on the school’s Canon camera last month: Brandon had said he was “having a 3 out of a 10 day” and she asked him to demonstrate what that looked like.

In a dark change room, Abbott-Brown held a flashlight to his face as he cradled his head in his hands, with his sad eyes looking away. Later, she would reproduce the raw print in black and white then title her work Brandon Warhol — a nod to Andy Warhol.

courtney

The photo is a big coup for Abbott-Brown as her entry is the first from her school, CABE, to be accepted into Emerging Talent.

In total, 51 students — nearly all of them headed to art institutions after graduation in June — submitted more than 120 pieces for the show, with retired art teachers Marietta Heily Van-Os and Marg Atnikov, and Avalon Mott (Emily Carr University of Art + Design) and Kate Henderson (Capture Photography Festival) choosing 57 works from 33 students.

They are represent five high schools: CABE, Dr. Charles Best, Port Moody, Riverside and Gleneagle secondaries (Terry Fox and Pinetree did not submit while art entries from Centennial and Heritage Woods didn’t make the cut).

In an interview Monday, five artists from each of the chosen schools were invited by curator Katherine Dennis to speak with The Tri-City News about their pieces, their post-secondary dreams what it means to have their images in a public gallery.

 

serena

SERENA ATALAN

A student at Dr. Charles Best, Serena Atalan has an abstract clay sculpture titled Father in Emerging Talent 22. 

She usually paints but wanted to try a new medium and based her work on her dad’s mental struggles, showing a face with curvy elements but a sharp, jagged rod in the back of his head to emphasize his stress.

Her goal is to attend Emily Carr or Capilano University in September.

“I think people have a hard time talking about art seriously unless it’s in a gallery,” Atalan said, glancing around the room. “I was really not expecting to see such a variety. We all express our art differently and that’s a good thing.”

 

Nori

NORI KAWASAKI

A student of Jan Gardnner’s at Port Moody secondary, Nori Kawasaki has two multi-media works in Emerging Talent: Refuge, a watercolour-and-pencil crayon piece in the style of Finnish artist Tove Jansson (who is best known for her Moomin illustrations); and The Ventriloquist, a felt and wool miniature creation.

As Kawasaki’s ambition is to be a storyboard artist, the 17-year-old plans to study animation at Capilano University, Emily Carr or Sheridan College in Ontario. “It’s really inspiring to see other people’s art,” she said in the gallery. “Everyone has really wonderful imagination, and different goals and styles.”

 

april

APRIL KORNITSKY

Of the maximum three entries allowed for Emerging Talent, Riverside’s April Kornitsky had all three of her works accepted.

She believes it’s a sign.

“I was astonished,” she said, looking at her acrylic paintings An Homage, Reaching Abyss and Detrimental Growth. “I realized that I, too, can make a career out of this.”

Completed in 2017 and ’18, An Homage and Reaching Abysss are based on Egon Schiele’s self-portraits of his contorted body while Detrimental Growth was finished two weeks ago. The latter, done with acrylics and alcohol markers, depicts a set of lungs with smoke blooming out like flowers.

Kornitsky plans to pursue a career as a youth worker after obtaining a degree from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts program.

 

dilveen

DILVEEN ABI

Dilveen Abi draws her scenes from the past — both fictional and real.

Specifically, for her Emerging Talent pieces, she interprets a blue Japanese troll, with a Third Eye on his forehead, smirking in her golden heaven — a tribute to Islamic, Catholic and Asian art where gold paints are predominate in backgrounds.

And Abi uses pen and ink for her second work, Dream Girl, in which the protagonist, who wants to escape reality, is surrounded by characters.

A student of fine arts teacher Robyn Croft’s at Gleneagle secondary, the American-born Abi, who is of Kurdish descent, hopes to get into Emily Carr. “I like textures and I like to be inspired by history and mythological creatures. There’s a lot to explore.”
 

• Emerging Talent 22 runs until Feb. 17 at the Art Gallery at Evergreen (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam). Admission is free. Call 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.