Turner Prize 2006 exhibition poster
Tomma Abts' room in the 2006 exhibition © Tate Photography, J Fernandes and M Heathcote
Shortlist
- Tomma Abts – winner
- Phil Collins – nominated
- Mark Titchner – nominated
- Rebecca Warren – nominated
Watch the Turner Prize nominee films:
Traditionalists may be pleased as painter wins Turner Prize
The Turner Prize 2006 featured a broad range of media with sculpture, painting, installation and video represented. Phil Collins introduced the first ever consistent ‘live’ element into the exhibition. He set up a working office in the gallery manned by a team of researchers looking for participants for his next project. In the end the jury awarded the prize to Tomma Abts for her densely wrought canvases. She was the first female painter to win and this decision was welcomed by the public.
Jury
- Lynn Barber, writer, The Observer
- Margot Heller, Director, South London Gallery
- Matthew Higgs, Director and Chief Curator, White Columns, New York
- Andrew Renton, writer and Director of Curating, Goldsmiths College
- Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate and Chairman of the Jury
Turner Prize 2006 in quotes
After years of unmade beds, pickled sheep and lightbulbs that switch on and off, Britain’s most prestigious art prize was won last night by the most unlikely kind of artist – a painter … Her win comes amid talk of a return to painting in the art world.
Tim Cornell, The Scotsman , December 2006
It’s not often you get a chance to be part of a living artwork, so when a job came up at Collins’ company, I decided to apply … It’s the first time in the Turner history that real people have been such an integral part of the work … The office is certainly a bold idea.
Lena Corner, researcher for Shady Lane Productions, Phil Collins’ ongoing work at Tate Britain, The Independent , August 2007
