Richard Wright wins £25,000 Turner Prize

Richard Wright wins £25,000 Turner Prize

08 December, 2009
by: Spoonfed Team

The winner of the most publicised prize in contemporary art was announced last night as Glasgow-based Richard Wright, aged 49. At the ceremony at Tate Britain, Wright was awarded the £25,000 Turner Prize by Poet Laureate Carol Anne Duffy for his delicate and detailed site-specific wall paintings.

Wright saw off competition from Lucy Skaer, Enrico David and Spoonfed's tip for the prize, Roger Hiorns, whose work, Seizure, consisted of coating the interior of a South London flat entirely with copper sulphate crystals.


Richard Wright, no title 2009, Courtesy the artist; Gagosian, London; The Modern Institute / Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow and BQ, Berlin © Copyright the artist. Photo credit: Sam Drake and Gabrielle Johnson, Tate Photography

Whilst Wright seems to be a popular winner, not everyone is convinced. Spoonfed's Arts Editor described his work as "most likely to give you a headache” whilst Charles Thomson of the Stuckists pulled no punches in saying, "It's not art; it's wallpaper".

Wright himself declared: "The most important thing about the work is that it is destroyed".

The Turner Prize exhibition continues until 18th January 2010.

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Spoonfed Team