XL CATLIN ART PRIZE announces exhibition shortlist

NEW YORK, July 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- XL Catlin is pleased to announce that works from 40 student artists have been selected for the inaugural XL Catlin Art Prize Traveling Exhibition. Launched in December 2017, the XL Catlin Art Prize is devoted to figurative artwork and is one of the premier student art competitions in the United States.

The exhibition will go on a nationwide tour beginning at the San Francisco Art Institute from August 22 – October 7, with a public reception to be held on Friday, August 31. It will then travel to Chicago where it will be on view at Linda Warren Projects from November 3 – 8. The tour finishes in New York City at the New York Academy of Art with an exhibition on view from November 21 – 29. .

The Prize

The first prize and second prize winners will be announced at the closing reception on Wednesday, November 28. The first prize is $10,000 and second prize is $3,500 and winners will be chosen by renowned artists Nicole Eisenman, Eric Fischl, Amy Sheraldand XL Catlin's Senior Vice President for Fine Art & Specie InsuranceJennifer Schipf. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue.

In an innovative twist, the Prize also includes an Audience Award, to be selected via Instagram (@XLCatlinArtPrize). Beginning on August 12, individual works will be posted to XL Catlin Art Prize's Instagram account every 48 hours until all have been shown and the work with the most "likes" on the platform will win $1,500. This will be the first prestigious art prize conducted via the social media platform of Instagram.

The Finalists

Over 700 submissions were received from 140 different schools, both undergraduate and graduate programs. The 40 works in the exhibition, which include paintings, drawings, prints, tapestries and other media, were chosen by an Exhibition Jury comprised of Ian Alteveer, Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,Jennie Goldstein, Assistant Curator at the Whitney Museum, Laura Hoptman, Curator at the Museum of Modern Art, and Kara Vander Weg, Director at Gagosian Gallery.

The shortlisted artists, 20 young men and 20 young women, are enrolled at 24 different schools and range in age from 19 to 27. The artists hail from 4 countries and 19 states. Six schools had two artists make the cut: Hunter College, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Rhode Island School of Design, San Francisco Art Institute, Savannah College of Art and Design, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Three shortlisted artists are from Yale University, four from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and five from the New York Academy of Art.

The focus of the XL Catlin Art Prize reflects the reemergence of figurative art in the contemporary art world and seeks to support the next generation of American artists. Jennifer Schipf, Senior Vice President for Fine Art & Specie Insurance at XL Catlin said, "Following ten successful years of holding the competition in the UK, the Prize gives us the perfect platform to highlight new artists and provides a unique insight into emerging talent in the US."

About XL Catlin

XL Catlin is the global brand used by XL Group Ltd's (NYSE:XL) insurance and reinsurance companies which provide property, casualty, professional and specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the world. Clients look to XL Catlin for answers to their most complex risks and to help move their world forward. To learn more, visit xlcatlin.com.

About The New York Academy of Art 
Founded in 1982 by artists, scholars and patrons of the arts, including Andy Warhol, the New York Academy of Art is a not-for-profit education and cultural institution which combines intensive technical training in drawing, painting and sculpture with active critical discourse. Academy students are taught traditional methods and techniques and encouraged to use these skills to make vital contemporary art. Through major exhibitions, a lively speaker series, and an ambitious educational program, the Academy serves as a creative and intellectual center for all artists dedicated to highly skilled, conceptually aware figurative and representational art.

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SOURCE XL Catlin