Maurizio Cattelan will be awarded the 2026 Preis der Nationalgalerie.
Born in Padua, Cattelan is known for using shock, humour and moral ambivalence to raise questions about guilt, responsibility, power and collective trauma. His most well-known works include La Nona Ora (1999), a sculpture of John Paul II struck by a meteorite; Him (2001), a kneeling child with the face of Adolf Hitler and more recently, Comedian (2019), a banana taped to a wall.
The jury for the 2026 prize included Emma Lavigne, director of the Pinault Collection, Paris; Sam Keller, director of the Fondation Beyeler, Basel and Klaus Biesenbach, director of the Neue Nationalgalerie.
Speaking on their decision, the jury stated: ‘Cattelan’s practice engages enduring themes such as power, religion, death, humour and memory – concerns that resonate with particular force in Berlin, a city profoundly shaped by its complex history. As an Italian artist with an international career, he brings a distinctly European perspective to questions of identity, responsibility and collective remembrance. His works invite us to confront history in ways that are simultaneously provocative, critical and poetic.’
Cattelan will have a solo exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, opening in September 2026.
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