In December 2006 German born artist Tomma Abts went down in history as the first female artist to win the coveted Turner Prize. Tomma Abts accomplished this noteworthy historical victory by beating off three other - worthy finalists.
In no particular order of importance these were - sculptress Rebecca Warren who was the fancied hot favourite with many bookies, "billboard artist" Mark Titchner - and finally film maker Phil Collins...(No not him of Genesis fame!).
When the judges cast their votes however it was Tomma Abts who came out on top. She won twenty five thousand british pounds and of course the Turner Prize itself. I am sure the money will come in handy - however it's the exposure that Tomma will get from winning that's the really important thing here.
What does Tomma Abts do? Well she actually paints abstract art; usually in oils or acrylics. - something of a novelty for the Turner Prize - some would say! Tomma Abts was originally selected for her solo art exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, and Greengrassi, London.
"Intimate" and "compelling" are just two of the adjectives used by the prestigious Tate Gallery to describe paintings by Tomma Abts. When it comes to Tomma's actual approach to her art - they describe this as ""rigorous" and "consistent". According to the Tate - when it comes to abstract art - Tomma Abts simply "enriches" it.
With endorsements like this is it any wonder she won the prize?! In my personal opinion I think Tomma Abts is OK, but for me she doesn't have "Knock Out" impact.
Tomma seems fond of constructing her images by repeating endlessly varying geometric base shapes or elements. Hardly original - one would think however, despite my initial cynicism - I have found images by Tomma Abts to be very evocative and quite memorable.
Curiously - every work by Tomma Abts is said to measure precisely 48 x 38 cms...I'm told that there's nothing particularly significant about these dimensions. She just likes that size!
The titles of art works by Tomma Abts - such as "Veeke" are said to be simply lifted from a dictionary of German first names! Well why not? It beats just giving her paintings numbers!
All in all I think that Tomma Abts creates abstract art that is pretty accessible to the public at large. This is something that perhaps could not be said about the artwork of previous Turner Prize winners! I base my opinion of course on Tomma's prize winning paintings. I would go further and state that I cannot conceive of a Tomma Abts creation offending anyone - even slightly.
In the final analysis I think it's quite possible that Tomma Abts could develop into a household "art name" - a bit like Damian Hirst - before she shuffles off this mortal coil...On the other hand she could simply vanish in a thrice, without trace, from our minds and our media. As I see it - exactly the same reasons could result in either outcome.
