Laure Prouvost, “Wantee” (2013) (image via Tate Britain, courtesy the artist and MOT International)
French video and installation artist Laure Prouvost has been announced as the winner of the Tate’s Turner Prize, given this year in Londonderry, UK. Prouvost, whose winning installation “Wantee” centers around a fictional, Kurt Schwitters–inflected grandfather character, beat out a shortlist comprising Lynette Yiadom Boakye, David Shrigley, and Tino Sehgal. The award was presented by the actor Saoirse Ronan at the first Turner ceremony held outside of England, in Northern Ireland’s city of Derry (officially Londonderry).
The Turner Prize, which carries a £25,000 (~$41,000) purse, has been awarded to British artists since 1984 (with a one-year hiatus in 1990), and is widely considered to be a barometric indicator of trends in the country’s art scene. Named after the 19th-century painter J.M.W. Turner, the prize, administered by Tate Britain but adjudicated by a different independent jury every year, is given to “a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding.” London-based Prouvost is the sixth woman to win the award since its inception, though there have been several all-female shortlists.
The Turner Prize exhibition is on display at the Ebrington Barracks in Londonderry through January 5, and Prouvost has a solo show opening February 12 at the New Museum.
