Mohammed Sami emerges as favourite in predictable Turner prize 2025 shortlist
The Turner prize is the world’s most prestigious award for contemporary art. Named after the renowned British painter J.M.W. Turner, the prize used to be a huge media affair. After it relaunched in 1991, it had a full live feature on Channel 4 (back in the day when most people only had four television channels) presented by British art critic Matthew Collings, and the prize was announced over the years by major celebrities, such as Madonna.
Famous for courting controversy, the Turner prize shortlist was often featured on the front pages of tabloid newspapers – Tracey Emin’s “unmade bed” being a point in case. In more recent years, the prize has become less controversial and shifted towards more political themes, following certain trends such as new media and identity politics.
Originally, the prize was limited to a British artist under the age of 50, but the age limit was removed in 2017 to accommodate Lubaina Himid (then 63) who was seen as emblematic of overlooked artists (in particular women of colour).
Organised by the Tate which appoints a jury to select the shortlist, this year’s panel includes Andrew Bonacina (independent curator), Sam Lackey (director of the Liverpool Biennale), Priyesh Mistry (associate curator of modern and contemporary projects at the National Gallery, London), and Habda Rashid (senior curator of modern and contemporary art at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge).
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The criteria for selection are straightforward: the artist must be based in Britain and have had an outstanding exhibition in the last 12 months. Since this exhibition could take place anywhere in the world, it’s not uncommon for the British public not to have seen it, and this is the case this year. On the 250th anniversary of J.M.W. Turner’s birthday, the shortlist for the 2025 Turner Prize was announced at Tate Britain, with four artists shortlisted: Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa.
Nnena Kalu was selected for her show at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona, supplemented by work at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Kalu creates colourful cocoon-like hanging sculptures that are wrapped and woven, and respond to the architectural space in which they hang.
Much will be made of Kalu’s identity as a black, learning-disabled, female artist, but this doesn’t really need to come into the assessment of her work, which is really an exploration of colour, gesture and repetition.
Rene Matić was nominated for their show at CCA Berlin. Matić’s work addresses race, gender and class from personal experience, reflecting concerns that are so commonplace in contemporary art that – ironically for one of the youngest-ever Turner Prize nominees – they now seem behind the curve, like a pastiche.
Unlike Kalu, Matić’s installations and photography place identity front and centre, predictably from a personal point of view. This is supposed to make a powerful statement about the intersectionality of modern life, but is hardly an original position today.
Mohammed Sami was nominated for his exhibition at Blenheim Palace, which, while in England, was easily missed by art lovers.
Sami’s paintings depict interiors that evoke memory and loss. His use of shadows and the absence of human presence create a sinister atmosphere, adding depth to his exploration of personal and collective histories and to the genre of the interior.
Zadie Xa was nominated for her show at the Sharjah Biennial 16. Xa’s interdisciplinary approach combines sound, textiles and mural painting to delve into her Korean heritage, including themes like shamanism.
Her work pushes the boundaries of painting, integrating it with other media – such as sound, textiles and murals – to create immersive experiences.
This year’s Turner prize is notable for including painting for the first time since before the pandemic – perhaps a nod to Turner himself in this anniversary year. Sami’s oil on canvas contrast with Xa’s interdisciplinary methods, highlighting the diversity of contemporary art practices. Kalu and Matić provide installations, photography and text art diversifying the shortlist in terms of medium.
The four shortlisted artists will be exhibited together at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford in September, and the winner will be announced on December 9. While the line-up is stronger than others in recent years, it is still somewhat predictable and lacks the excitement and controversies of years gone by.
Mohammed Sami is by far the best artist on the shortlist and is already emerging as a clear favourite to win. Although the 2017 winner Lubaina Himid’s work included elements of painting, if Sami does win, he would be the first painter to win the prize since Tomma Abts in 2006.
Martin Lang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.