TURNER PRIZE GUYS

THERE was some jesting three years ago that Scotland should “keep” the Turner Prize, the leading contemporary art award, after three Scottish artists won it in a row, rather like when Brazil was allowed to keep the original World Cup after dominating it for so long.

Since that moment, of course, there has been more Scottish success in the annual prize, with the Glasgowbased Irish artist Duncan Campbell picking up the £40,000 award this year.

The Glasgow School of Art-trained artist won for his film It For Others, a piece he made for the Scotland + Venice show, which was curated by Glasgow’s Common Guild.

Campbell was the seventh artist with Scottish links to seize the prize since Douglas Gordon won in 1996, and so it is entirely apt that the frequently controversial prize is finally to be staged in Glasgow, at the Tramway in October.

Fans of Graham Fagen (pictured) will be hoping he can emulate Campbell’s success as he is presenting a solo show for the Scotland + Venice show in the summer. Fagen, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, will create the seventh separate presentation by Scotland, which is funded by Creative Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland and the British Council in Scotland and is not part of the official UK pavilion. The show will run from May 9 to November 22, and will be curated by Hospitalfield Arts of Arbroath.

It will be staged at the Palazzo Fontana, located on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district in Venice, the first time the 16th century Palazzo has been used for an exhibition. Directly facing the Grand Canal, the venue occupies more than 4,000 square feet.

Fagen’s art combines video, performance, photography and sculpture with text, live music and plants. His recurring artistic themes include flowers, trees and teeth, and he often works in metal.

PHIL MILLER