Awarded: Rosa Barba Receives Zurich Art Prize Worth $161,000
Rosa Barba Wins Zurich Art Prize and Showcases Immersive Installation
Rosa Barba, a German-Sicilian artist based in Berlin, has been awarded the prestigious 2026 Zurich Art Prize. Known for her conceptual and innovative artistic practice, Barba's work explores the relationship between natural and constructed environments through a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates film, sculpture, and installation.
The Zurich Art Prize annually recognises artistic practices that offer insights into various aspects of contemporary culture and society. Barba's win reaffirms her status as a leading contemporary artist who blends film, sculpture, and installation to create immersive spatial experiences.
Barba's latest work, "The Ocean of One's Pause," was showcased this summer at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This cinematic installation brings together 12 works made over a 15-year period. The exhibition explores light as an agent of ecological change and links catastrophe and beauty in a thought-provoking manner.
The Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich will host a show for Barba as a result of winning the Zurich Art Prize. Barba will receive 100,000 CHF ($124,000) for the show, and an additional 30,000 CHF ($37,000) for winning the prize. The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of performances described by the artist as an "exploded poem."
Barba's installations frequently aim to collapse the divisions between time and space. Her work often involves a search for the sublime and explores perception and how we look at things. "The Ocean of One's Pause" is a kinetic work, described as a non-film film.
The news of Barba winning the Zurich Art Prize was first reported by Monopol, and her work was featured in an interview with Art in America in June. Barba was announced as the 19th winner of Zurich Art Prize, and her work continues to challenge perceptions of reality and memory in innovative and thought-provoking ways.
- Rosa Barba's immersive installation, "The Ocean of One's Pause," was recently showcased at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, integrating her work in film, sculpture, and installation.
- The Museum Haus Konstruktiv in Zurich will host an exhibition for Rosa Barba, following her win of the Zurich Art Prize, which she received along with a monetary award of 100,000 CHF ($124,000) for her show and an additional 30,000 CHF ($37,000) for winning the prize.
- As a leading contemporary artist, Rosa Barba's work explores the relationship between natural and constructed environments, frequently aiming to collapse the divisions between time and space, and often involving a search for the sublime.
- Rosa Barba's latest exhibition in Zurich is anticipated to feature a series of performances described by the artist as an "exploded poem," showcasing her unique contribution to modern art and entertainment at an art museum.
