Skateboarding artist wins £24,000 prize. Now he plans to spray his car...

An artist who finds inspiration while skateboarding through Glasgow won the Institute of Contemporary Arts Becks Futures award last night.

Toby Paterson, 28, who paints his murals directly on to gallery walls, was picked as the best of the 10 artists shortlisted for the awards, which are trying to be more radical than the Turner prize. The exhibition at the ICA, on The Mall, London, showcasing works by the finalists was criticised for lack of innovation or ideas, but the organisers defended the calibre of the artists.

Paterson won his award for a mural running the length of the 69ft ICA concourse, based on a façade designed by Lubetkin decorating the wall of a housing estate in Paddington.

Entitled We Fall In Patterns Too Quickly, the mural was one of many of his works that deal with post-war urban architecture, which he often views from his skateboard. He recently designed and built a skateboard park in the Royston Road area of Glasgow. His work at the ICA exhibition had a mixed reception from critics, with some calling it well crafted but flat.

Mark Francis, chairman of the judges, said that the panel was "fascinated with the way Paterson translates complex architectural motifs from the lost dreams of post-war Modernism and turns them into an aesthetic and social inquiry."

Paterson received £24,000 as overall winner, which was handed to him by the Icelandic pop star Bjork last night. He said he would use the money to respray his car and buy artist materials.

Andy Neal, from Becks, said the final shortlist demonstrated "experimentation and innovation" from artists at a crucial stage in their career.

Each of the remaining nine shortlisted artists received cheques for £4,000. They included painters, video artists and a photographer, Tom Wood, 51, from New Brighton in Liverpool. He had been taking pictures for the past 25 years, with little or no recognition.

He was the oldest shortlisted artist, while the painter Neil Rumming, 28, is one of the youngest. Rumming exhibited an airbrushed version of Ferrari's prancing stallion, and what looked like a weirdly stressed heart.

The other shortlisted artists, all in their 20s and 30s, are David Cotterrell, Kirsten Glass, Paul Hosking, Rachel Lowe, Dan Perfect, and Hideyuki Sawayanagi. About 170 artists were nominated for the awards by other artists and curators. The exhibition will stay at the ICA until 12 May.