AwardSeptember 6, 2022
Francis Alÿs was granted the Wolfgang Hahn Prize
The Gesellschaft für Moderne Kunst honors exceptional contemporary artists annually with the Wolfgang Hahn Prize. Previous winners included Frank Bowling, Marcel Odenbach, Kerry James Marshall, Pipilotti Rist. Alÿs will present an exhibition at the Museum Ludwig, accompanied by a publication. Additionally, 100.000 euros for the acquisition of a work or group of works by the artist for the museum collection.
"Of course, I am much honored, and in these polarized times, receiving such an award is significant and invigorating, as it makes me feel that there is some coincidence of my own preoccupations and the public's and that a dialogue is possible," Francis Alÿs.
The award is granted considering a consistent development of the artist's oeuvre over several decades and international recognition among experts. The name of the award honors the memory of the Cologne-based collector and painting conservator Wolfgang Hahn (1924–1987), who was committed on many levels to the art of the European and American Avant-Garde in Cologne.
Alÿs's Venice Biennale pavilion was among the most widely praised in the exhibition. Titled "The Nature of the Game," the pavilion featured videos of children from different nations playing together. The pavilion's contents, including new paintings by Alÿs, are set to appear at the WIELS contemporary art center in Brussels next year.
"Of course, I am much honored, and in these polarized times, receiving such an award is significant and invigorating, as it makes me feel that there is some coincidence of my own preoccupations and the public's and that a dialogue is possible," Francis Alÿs.
The award is granted considering a consistent development of the artist's oeuvre over several decades and international recognition among experts. The name of the award honors the memory of the Cologne-based collector and painting conservator Wolfgang Hahn (1924–1987), who was committed on many levels to the art of the European and American Avant-Garde in Cologne.
Alÿs's Venice Biennale pavilion was among the most widely praised in the exhibition. Titled "The Nature of the Game," the pavilion featured videos of children from different nations playing together. The pavilion's contents, including new paintings by Alÿs, are set to appear at the WIELS contemporary art center in Brussels next year.
