The award was presented to the first winner during a solo exhibition at the international art exhibition Frieze 2025 in London.
The prize supports aspiring artists at the beginning of their careers.
In the second year of the award, five artists were selected for the shortlist exhibition from a pool of around 400 candidates.
Of these five, the panel of experts, comprising Elke Buhr, Yilmaz Dziewior and Maya Heckelmann, chose artist Ken Nwadiogbu to receive this year’s Young Generation Art Award 2026.
The award ceremony was held in the Hotel de Rome in Berlin on 19 February 2026. Christian Rauch, CEO of Degussa, presented the prize to the London-based Nigerian artist Ken Nwadiogbu.
The experts highlight the following in their reasoning: Ken Nwadiogbu’s art is technically virtuositic, exceptionally evocative and multifaceted.
He masterfully combines elaborate, hyperrealistic figuration with expressive, abstract backgrounds to take his place in artistic modernity in complex style.
He honours the members of the Black community and lets them shine in his bright yellow portraits based on photographs taken of people around him.
"Ken Nwadiogbu seamlessly blends technical sophistication, emotional depth and social relevance in a way that deeply moves us all," Christian Rauch told That's Books and More.
The winner receives €10,000 in prize money, an individual exhibition at Frieze London 2026 and a one-year travelling exhibition that will be shown at a number of international locations. The other finalists receive an exhibition fee of €3,000.
Judges: Elke Buhr (Editor-in-chief of Monopol), Yilmaz Dziewior (Director of Museum Ludwig in Cologne), Maya Heckelmann (Art and culture sponsoring at Degussa).
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