A painter who wants none of his work to survive his death was awarded one of the world's top contemporary art prizes today.
Scottish-based Richard Wright beat the bookmakers' favourite Roger Hiorns to win Britain's Turner Prize, an annual award that normally stirs a hornet's nest of controversy over what is art and what is not.
Best known for his intricate, mathematically precise wall frescoes, Mr Wright seems an oddly sedate choice for a prize normally associated with the enfants terribles of conceptual art.
Damien Hirst won the Turner in 1995 with a pickled cow and Chris Ofili caused a stir in 1998 for works that incorporated lumps of elephant dung.
Mr Wright's exhibition piece is a baroque-style painting in gold leaf, which progresses in geometric swirls across an entire wall. His work has the ephemeral beauty of a glistening spider's web, something created with painstaking detail but which will not last.
"I like the idea of there being nothing left when I'm gone," said Mr Wright, whose work will be painted over after the Turner exhibition ends in January.
A former pupil at the Edinburgh College of Art, Mr Wright has eschewed canvas since the 1990s and concentrated on short-lived installations for specific architectural contexts.
At 49, Mr Wright only just qualified for the prize which is open to British-based artists under the age of 50.
The institution, which aims to draw attention to new developments in the world of contemporary art, dates back to 1984. Previous winners include Gilbert & George, Richard Long and Anish Kapoor.
While short on shock value, the Turner Prize judges said Mr Wright's work was no less radical. They praised the "profound originality and beauty" of his designs, and the high standard of the competition in general.
"Rooted in fine art tradition yet radically conceptual in impact, Wright's works come alive as they are experienced by the viewer," the jury said in a statement.
Mr Wright picks up a cheque for £25,000. The three other shortlisted candidates -- Enrico David, Roger Hiorns and Lucy Skaer -- each receive a cheque for £5,000.
Work from all four short-listed artists will remain on display at the Tate Britain museum until early January.
Reuters