Surprisingly, it's gone to Richard Wright, who created a subtly stunning wall painting of gold filigree.
The Guardian has a nice write-up, complete with some good video content at the beginning. Rachel Campbell-Johnston, in the Times online, expresses the prevailing opinion, which is a sort of happy shock. Does Wright's garnering of the prize, a year before he would no longer have been eligible, express some kind of sea change in the art world, a yearning for less controversy and more craftsmanship? Or was he just the best entrant this year?
For those who don't know, the Turner Prize, named after the English Romantic landscape painter J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851), is awarded by Tate Britain each year to "a British artist under fifty for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding." This year's award was £25,000. You can read more about it here: http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/turnerprize/
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