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Tomma Abts Abstract Art isn't a "Knock Out" - but It is OK.

In 2006 the Turner Prize gained it's first ever female winner. The artist who achieved this feat hails from Germany and is called is Tomma Abts. In order to carry off the Turner Prize - in the final, Tomma had to overcome three notable artists .

They are worthy of a mention here. I'm referring to Mark Titchner curiously known as a "billboard artist", Rebecca Warren - a highly original sculptress and last but not least Phil Collins - who I'm told makes films. Of the three - it was Rebecca Warren that most bookies were tipping to win the prize.

In the end good fortune - and the judges smiled on Tomma Abts. Tomma won 25,000 - surely a welcome addition to her bank account - and the prize itself. However the exposure Tomma Abts will receive from winning is worth much more than the cash - or so it's often said. I tend to agree.

Well OK - which medium doesTomma Abts work with? Well - she's a painter working in the main with acrylics - creating abstract art. This would tend to go against the form of previous Turner Prize winners who have tended not to be painters. However it was precisely the painting of Tomma Abts that gained her original selection. Tomma held exhibitions in Switzerland - Kunsthalle Basel and the UK - London's "Greengrassi"

The Tate Gallery has lauded her "rigorous and consistent approach to painting" .Furthermore this prestigous gallery comments on the "intimate and compelling canvases" of Tomma Abts and how she "enriches the language of abstract art"....I think they like her - a lot!

With such praise heaped upon her head it's no surprise to me that she won the prize. However I actually feel that Tomma's abstract artwork isn't "knock out" but it definitely is OK.

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.

48 x 38 cms - exactly. These are the dimensions of every Tomma Abts painting. I'm not sure quite why Tomma selected these dimensions. Obviously she finds them appealing and I suppose they make for a very compact painting.

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!

Based on photographs of some of the prize winning work by Tomma Abts I would say that unlike previous winners of the Turner Prize - Tomma's work is pretty accessible to the general public. Furthermore the artwork of Tomma Abts could not conceivably offend even the most "dyed in the wool" and reactionary of "Mary Whitehouse" types.

In the end it's just my personal opinion but I do believe that it's entirely posible that Tomma Abts will go on to become a household name - within her own lifetime...Of course she could also disappear without trace from the media - and our minds in the blink of an eye, for precisely the same reasons.

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About The Author: Flo Cordon loves Art. Read her fascinating writing on 2006 Turner Prize Winner Tomma Abts. Flo provides a whole new outlook on Abstract Art.

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