The Lamar Dodd School of Art is pleased to announce that Joan Daniel Cordova Rodriguez has been selected as one of the 40 finalists for this year’s AXA ART PRIZE Competition out of over 500 applicants. Rodriguez graduated in the Spring of 2019 with a BFA in Painting.

The AXA Art Prize shines a spotlight on the re-emergence of figurative art in the contemporary art world. Now in its second year in North America, the prize has established a strong reputation as an insightful overview of emerging talent and recognizes young artists through a prestigious New York exhibition and catalog publication. The contest provides a unique platform for new artistic talent and gives the next generation of figurative artists the perfect forum in which to launch their careers.

The figurative art competition was judged by regional jurors from across the US, including the Dodd’s own Margaret Morrison, and four exhibition jurors from the MET, MoMa, The Whitney and New Museum. Rodriguez’s artwork will soon be exhibited nationally from California at the San Francisco Art Institute, to Chicago at Richard Gray Gallery, and concluding in NYC at the New York Academy of Art. The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by David Ebony, former editor at Art in America.  The 40 finalists are also in the running to be considered for the First Prize of $10,000 and our Second Prize of $5,000 to be selected by an esteemed panel of artist jurors, Sanford Biggers, Will Cotton, John Currin, and Tscabalala Self.

The shortlisted artists, nine young men and 31 young women, are enrolled at 30 different schools. The artists hail from 14 different states and three countries. Four schools have multiple shortlisted artists: California College of the Arts, the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York Academy of Art.

Last year’s Prize, selected by Nicole Eisenman, Eric Fischl and Amy Sherald, was awarded to an undergraduate student from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Monica Ikegwu. Comments Jennifer Schipf, Global Practice Leader – Art at AXA XL, “We were thrilled with last year’s launch of the AXA Art Prize and are proud to continue our tradition of supporting emerging artists in the U.S. and around the world.”
The Lamar Dodd School of Art’s inclusion in this group of prestigious institutions as the home of a juror and finalist speaks highly of the exception quality of the School of Art, as well as the faculty, programs, and students.