BT: Bringing Innovation & Technology Together

Turner Prize History

IntroductionHistory of the PrizeArtists 1984 - 2005People's Poll
The CriticsCartoonsFAQsIssuesQuizRecent Years

Grenville Davey
Shortlisted: 1992

Davey had been exhibiting work in London and elsewhere in Europe for five years when he was nominated for the Prize in 1992. At first glance his sculptures seem to show the absolute beauty of pure forms, but on closer inspection they seem reminiscent of domestic or industrial objects, oddly enlarged and out of context. At the centre of his work is an interest in the relationship between art objects and how we perceive reality.

HAL
HAL 1992
Two parts, steel, 244 x 122 cm each
Private Collection   © Courtesy Lisson Gallery and the artist   Photo: Tate Photography

Grenville Davey was born in Launceston, Cornwall in 1961. He studied at Exeter College of Art and Design until 1982 and graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1985. He won the Turner Prize in 1992 for the continuing development of his sculpture as seen in shows held at Kunsthalle, Bern and Kunstverin, Dusseldorf.

This information has been taken from The Turner Prize: Twenty Years, by Virginia Button, Tate Publishing, 2003.

View Grenville Davey in the Tate Collection