BT: Bringing Innovation & Technology Together

Turner Prize History

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

View by Year  |  A-Z List of Artists

Richard Wilson
Shortlisted: 1988, 1989

Wilson transforms architectural spaces, using industrial materials such as oil and metal, with natural phenomena such as water and light. His works destabalise our normal perceptions of architectural space and structure, heightening our awareness of mundane surroundings. His best known work, currently on show at the Saatchi Gallery, is called 20:50; it takes the viewer into a room half filled with sump oil. The experience is physically disorientating and visually breathtaking.

20:50
20:50 1987
Used sump oil and steel, dimensions variable
The Saatchi Collection, London   © Courtesy the artist and Matt's Gallery, London
Photo: Edward Woodman
(Shortlisted 1988)

Sea Level
Sea Level 1989
Galvanised steel grilling, sheet steel and gas-fired space heater, dimensions variable
Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol   © Courtesy the artist and Matt's Gallery, London
Photo: Edward Woodman courtesy Matt's Gallery, London
(Shortlisted 1989)

Richard Wilson was born in London, England in 1953. He attended Hornsey College of Art until 1974 and then studied at Reading University from 1974 to 1976. He was included on the unofficial shortlist in 1988 for his contribution to Television South West Arts exhibition and then commended in 1989 for the evocative site-specific installations made in collaboration with Matt's Gallery.

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