Farley Aguilar, School, 2015; oil on linen, 68½ by 95 inches.
Farley Aguilar has won the second annual $20,000 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art, given by the Orlando Museum of Art. The Miami artist was one of 10 finalists, who have work on view at the museum through September 6.
Born in Nicaragua, Aguilar makes paintings that with “the underbelly of American history,” he explains in the press release. He says, “I use everyday snapshots from the past and expose the hidden transcendental qualities within the mundane photograph.”
The other finalists were Bhakti Baxter (Miami); Cesar Cornejo (Tampa); Michael Covello (Tampa); Rob Duarte (Tallahassee); Jennifer Kaczmarek (Pensacola); Nicolas Lobo (Miami); Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz (Orlando); Alex Trimino (Miami); and Antonia Wright (Miami).
Serving as jurors were Juan Roselione-Valadez, director of the Rubell Family Collection in Miami; Ginger Gregg Duggan, independent curator and partner of curatorsquared in Orlando; and Ben Thompson, curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville.
Last year’s winner was Miami-based Agustina Woodgate.