1994
Winner:
Antony Gormley
Shortlist:
Jury:
- Marjorie Allthorpe-Guyton, Director of Visual Arts, Arts Council of England
- Roger Bevan, representative of the Patrons of New Art and contemporary art correspondent, The Art Newspaper
- Jenni Lomax, Director, Camden Arts Centre, London
- Milada Slizinska, curator and art historian, Centre for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland
- Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate Gallery
1994 Prize: overall a popular choice
In comparison to the previous year, the response to the shortlist was more measured. Antony Gormley’s work had proven its appeal to the British public before he was nominated and he was the popular choice to win. Critics also moved towards a more serious discus-sion of the artists. Willie Doherty presented the first video work to be exhibited in the Prize. His main subject matter was the violent conflict in his native Northern Ireland, which introduced a political dimension.
Antony Gormley's room in the 1994 exhibition © Tate Photography
The 1994 Turner Prize poster Quotes
‘More than 2,000 readers have inundated us with nominations for the 1994 Turner Prize … the runaway leader is Nick Park’s film, The Wrong Trousers. It polled an outstanding 1504 votes – which is five times more than the total for all artists nominated last year.’
– Stephen Pile, Daily Telegraph, based on the newspapers’ list of potential nominees, July 1994
‘So long the subject of dissension and antagonism … [the Turner Prize] appears to have entered a new chapter on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. General approval rather than hostile criticism greeted its announcement of four artists.’
– The Art Newspaper, November 1994
Other News
- Nelson Mandela becomes first Black South African elected president
- Rwandan genocide of Tutsis by Hutus
- IRA declares ceasefire and their will for peace in Northern Ireland
- The National Lottery is established in UK
- Channel Tunnel opens connecting Britain to France
- Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana dies
- Some went mad, some ran away is curated by Damien Hirst at Serpentine Gallery
- Jerwood painting prize is launched
- Four Weddings and a Funeral becomes UK box-office hit