turner prize 2016 shortlist revealed

turner prize 2016 shortlist revealed
(above) anthea hamilton; ‘project for door (after gaetano pesce)’, 2015 installation view; ‘anthea hamilton: lichen! libido! chastity!’ exhibition at sculpturecenter, new york, 2015, courtesy the artist, photo: kyle knodell

since 1984, the turner prize has been awarding an artist annually for an outstanding exhibition, or other presentation of their work from the preceding year. still one of the best-know prizes for visual arts, the shortlist of four creatives is selected each year by a specially chosen independent jury, following a process of public nominations. before the winner is announced in december, the four shortlisted artists are invited to present their pieces at the tate britain in an exhibition — with the nominees to be judged on the work for which they were chosen, and not for what they bring forth during the turner prize show.

this year sees anthea hamilton, michael dean, helen marten and josephine pryde vying for the title, whose creative practices are linked by common mediums — sculpture and installation.

anthea hamilton
‘brick suit’, 2010, installation view
‘anthea hamilton: lichen! libido! chastity! exhibition at sculpturecenter, new york, 2015
wool, lining
22 x 5 x 46 inches (55.9 x 12.7 x 116.8 cm)
courtesy the artist, photo: kyle knodell

anthea hamilton brings a surrealist sensibility to popular culture and the mind-bending volume of stylized and sexualized imagery in the digital world. working across sculpture, installation, performance and video, she seduces the viewer with comic and unexpected combinations of images, materials and worlds, through dramatic shifts in scale. she is nominated for her solo exhibition ‘anthea hamilton: lichen! libido! chastity!’ at sculpturecenter, new york.

michael dean
installation view of ‘sic glyphs’ exhibition at south london gallery, london, 2016
image courtesy of the artist, herald st, london, mendes wood DM, sao paulo, supportico lopez, berlin
photo: andy keate

michael dean’s practice is concerned with the physical presentation of language. his sculptures and installations reference everyday urban environments and the familiarly mundane, through the use of aesthetically overlooked materials — from rebar taken from a building site to the corrugated metal of a shop shutter. he has been nominated for his exhibitions ‘sic glyphs’ at south london gallery, london; and ‘qualities of violence’ at de appel arts centre, amsterdam.
michael dean
installation view of ‘sic glyphs’ exhibition at south london gallery, london, 2016
image courtesy of the artist, herald st, london, mendes wood DM, sao paulo, supportico lopez, berlin
photo: andy keate
helen marten
‘ùlimpet apology (traffic tenses)’, 2015
screen printing and painting on leather, suede, cotton, velvet; stained and sprayed ash; folded steel; enamel paint on balsa wood; airbrushed steel; magnets; inlaid formica; cherry
© the artist, courtesy sadie coles HQ, london and greene naftali, new york
photo: annik wetter, geneva

helen marten’s practice sees her employing a wide range of found objects, combined with immaculately crafted elements in her sculptures. while her work is suggestive of contemporary visual culture, as well as various kinds of art since the 60s, it also defies both form and meaning: it attracts and intrigues, but also resists interpretation and categorization. she is nominated for her projects ‘lunar nibs’ presented at the 56th venice biennale; and solo exhibition ‘eucalyptus let us in’ at green naftali, new york.
helen marten
‘night-blooming genera’, 2015 (detail)
spun aluminium, airbrushed steel, welded steel, lacquered hardwoods, stitched fabric, handthrown glazed ceramic, leather, glass, feathers, acid etched concrete
© the artist, courtesy sadie coles HQ, london and greene naftali, new york
photo: annik wetter, geneva
josephine pryde
‘installation view lapses in thinking by the person I am’ exhibition at wattis institute for contemporary arts, san francisco
image courtesy of josephine pryde, photo: johnna arnold

josphine pryde works across both two- and three-dimensional mediums — from photography to installation — through which she explores the very nature of image making and display. she is fascinated by the relationship between art and photography, of art as commodity and of the seductive qualities of the wider art world. she often calls into question the conventions of the gallery and the complex networks of the art world. she is nominated for her solo exhibition ‘lapsus in thinking by the person I am’ at CCA wattis, san francisco.
josephine pryde
‘für mich 2’, 2014, C-print
unframed: 60 x 45 cm (23 5/8 x 17 3/4 in.)
edition of 3 + 2 AP (SLG-JOP-08391)
courtesy of the artist and simon lee gallery, london; reena spaulings fine art, new york; and galerie neu, berlin

the turner prize 2016 exhibition at the tate britain runs from september 27th, 2016 to january 8t, 2017.

clockwise from top left: portrait of anthea hamilton, photo by lewis ronald; photo of michael dean, photo taken by the artist; photo of josephine pryde, photo: dan michell; photo of helen marten, photo by juergen teller