1986
Winner:
Gilbert & George
Shortlist:
- Art & Language
- Victor Burgin
- Gilbert & George
- Derek Jarman
- Stephen McKenna
- Bill Woodrow
- Commended:
Nicholas Serota
Matthew Collings
Robin Klassnik
Jury:
- Jean Christophe Amman, Director, Kunsthalle, Basel
- David Elliot, Director, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford
- Michael Newman, art critic and teacher
- Frederck Roos, representative of the Patrons of New Art
- Alan Bowness, Director, Tate Gallery
Turner Prize exhibition lets down shortlisted artists
The Turner Prize continued to establish itself as Britain’s foremost media art event, signalled by the fact that William Hill placed it on their books for the first time. The signing of a corporate sponsor for three years secured a future for the Prize; however there was increasing criticism of the shortlisting process and the exhibition. Many felt that if the main objective of the Prize was to popularise British art, then the shortlisted artists should be provided with a larger exhibition space to give the public a better sense of their work.
Gilbert and George after receiving the prize© Tate Photography
Installation shot of the 1986 Turner Prize © Tate Photography
1986 Turner Prize lecture invitation Quotes
'It seems bizarre. They mount this elaborate media operation to popularise British art, and then fail to do anything about showing art properly.'
– Mel Ramsden of Art & Language, 1986
‘The Turner Prize is clearly intended to arouse public interest in modern British culture and is a worthy idea – but until the Tate gives each artist a room to himself, it will remain a tawdry publicity stunt with next to no substance.’
– Andrew Graham-Dixon, The Sunday Times, August 1986
Other News
- Nuclear explosion in Chernobyl
- Space shuttle Challenger explodes during take-off
- Conservative government abolishes the Labour-run Greater London Council
- Argentina wins World Cup
- Whitechapel Art Gallery re-opens under Nicholas Serota’s directorship
- Manchester nightclub the Hacienda becomes first club to promote house music in UK
- William Hill puts the Turner Prize on their books