Destructive artist wins Turner
Source: Agencies |
December 9, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SCOTLAND-BASED painter known for destroying his large-scale wall murals after they have been exhibited won Britain's best-known art award, the Turner Prize, on Monday.
Richard Wright said he was surprised he beat three other finalists to win the annual 25,000 pound (US$40,000) prize, which was announced at London's Tate Britain gallery. The award was presented by British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
"I'm shocked - is there another kind of reaction?" the artist said. "I wasn't expecting it, not at all."
Wright is known for painting intricate, large-scale patterns on walls or ceilings, as well as for his insistence that his work be destroyed after the exhibitions end. He said he gave up painting on canvas because they were "rubbish" and didn't represent who he was.
Judges said they admired the "profound originality and beauty" of Wright's work, saying his paintings were rooted in the fine art tradition yet "radically conceptual in impact."
"Wright uses elaborate and labour-intensive methods to create transient works that respond directly to the architecture and context of a space," they said in a statement released by Tate Britain. "His works come alive as they are experienced by the viewer."
It was 49-year-old Wright's last chance to win the Turner, awarded annually to a British artist under 50. The prize, which always inspires fierce public debate about the nature of art, is named after 19th-century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner.
Richard Wright said he was surprised he beat three other finalists to win the annual 25,000 pound (US$40,000) prize, which was announced at London's Tate Britain gallery. The award was presented by British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
"I'm shocked - is there another kind of reaction?" the artist said. "I wasn't expecting it, not at all."
Wright is known for painting intricate, large-scale patterns on walls or ceilings, as well as for his insistence that his work be destroyed after the exhibitions end. He said he gave up painting on canvas because they were "rubbish" and didn't represent who he was.
Judges said they admired the "profound originality and beauty" of Wright's work, saying his paintings were rooted in the fine art tradition yet "radically conceptual in impact."
"Wright uses elaborate and labour-intensive methods to create transient works that respond directly to the architecture and context of a space," they said in a statement released by Tate Britain. "His works come alive as they are experienced by the viewer."
It was 49-year-old Wright's last chance to win the Turner, awarded annually to a British artist under 50. The prize, which always inspires fierce public debate about the nature of art, is named after 19th-century landscape painter J.M.W. Turner.
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