Artist Fabrice Gygi, curator Hilar Stadler and architect Tilla Theus have been awarded the 2026 Swiss Grand Award for Art / Prix Meret Oppenheim. They will each receive a prize of CHF 40,000.
Born and based in Geneva, Gygi trained in etching at the Centre genevois de gravure contemporaine and the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux-Arts of Geneva. His work, spanning engraving, installation, performance and painting, explores structures of protection and control, often borrowing the forms of security infrastructure.
Lucerne-born, Stadler is a curator and museum director. Since 1996 he has been director of the Museum im Bellpark in Kriens, where he has led exhibitions including Las Vegas Studio. Images from the Archives of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown and Eduard Spelterini. Photographs of a Pioneer Balloonist. Since 2015, he has also directed the Fondation Adolf Wölfli at the Kunstmuseum in Bern.
Born in Coire, Theus opened her architecture studio in 1969, immediately after obtaining her degree from ETH Zurich. Her work, characterised by colour and ornament, has led her to be considered a key figure of Swiss postmodernity. Her projects include the Widder Hotel, Zurich; the police station of the Rathausbrücke, Zurich; and the FIFA headquarters, Zurich.
The award will be presented as part of the Swiss Art Awards on 15 June in Basel.
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