Painter wins Turner prize

2006-12-05 10:15

London - German-born artist Tomma Abts won the Turner Prize, one of the art world's most controversial awards, on Monday for her minimalist canvasses that the judges praised for their "rigour and consistency".

In awarding her the £25 000 (about R351 400) prize, the judges said the abstract artist who has lived in London for the past 12 years produced "compelling images that reveal their complexity slowly over time".

Every year the Turner Prize enrages aficionados who complain that nothing succeeds like excess with trendy, headline-grabbing works preferred to what they see as "real" art.

But the Turner always manages to attract up to 100 000 visitors a year to the Tate Britain museum.

- Reuters