The 12th Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts goes to Theaster Gates

The Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation is delighted to announce that the US-American artist Theaster Gates has been awarded the Frederick Kiesler Prize for Architecture and the Arts. The prize for outstanding achievement celebrates the visionary work of artist-architect Frederick Kiesler (1890 – 1965).

"Spatial platforms that highlight the contributions of Black artists and designers have been long overlooked. Projects that consider people as much as they consider the implications of the built form deserve merit. I'm so grateful to be part of this precedent and honored that the selection committee would acknowledge my practice as part of the amazing work by luminaries who have received this award in the past. I'm thankful to all who have supported my practice both within museums and on the street." – Theaster Gates

The high-profile jury including Elizabeth Diller and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster acknowledges "a concept artist who does not work inside the established systems but who has found agency through his highly unusual and idiosyncratic practice."

Born in Chicago in 1973, Theaster Gates is one of the most original artists of our time. His works have been exhibited in leading museums, and important exhibitions. He has won numerous international prizes, and is Founder and Executive Director of the Rebuild Foundation in Chicago.

The prize is awarded alternately every two years by the Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna. It has been awarded to Frank O. Gehry, Judith Barry, Cedric Price, Asymptote Architecture, Olafur Eliasson, Toyo Ito, Heimo Zobernig, Andrea Zittel, Bruce Nauman, Andrés Jaque and Yona Friedman.


Download Press Material: https://www.kiesler.org/en/press/