Young Generation Art Award 2026 – Shortlist exhibition at Gendarmenmarkt

The winner of the second round of the award will be announced on February 19, 2026.

The Young Generation Art Award was initiated in 2024 by Degussa Goldhandel in cooperation with the art magazine Monopol and was awarded for the first time in 2025. As part of Degussa’s participation in Frieze London 2025, the award was presented to an international audience and received strong recognition in the art world. Its aim is to support promising emerging talents in contemporary art and provide them with a platform.

“Young artists bring fresh perspectives and remarkable energy to contemporary art. The Young Generation Art Award shows how vibrant and relevant emerging positions are today,” says Elke Buhr, Editor-in-Chief of Monopol.

Christian Rauch, Managing Director of Degussa, adds:
“Art is an expression of the future. With the Young Generation Art Award, we want to encourage young talents to develop their ideas freely – boldly, experimentally and with a clear view ahead. Their work inspires us and demonstrates the creative potential of the next generation.”

The nominees represent a broad spectrum of artistic expression – from painting to installation – highlighting how multifaceted, bold and visionary today’s young art scene is.

Short biographies of the nominees
 

• Yuhao Chen (born 1991, China) studied at the China Academy of Art and at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he graduated in 2023 as a master student under Anke Doberauer. He lives and works in Munich.
• Lunita July Dorn (born 1999, Berlin) has been studying at Kunsthochschule Weissensee since 2020 in the class of Friederike Feldmann. She lives and works in Berlin.
• Arne Grashoff (born 1995, southern Germany) studied communication design in Stuttgart and later photography under Heidi Specker at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. Since 2025, he has continued his studies at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he also lives.
• Emmélie Lempert (born 1998, Bonn) studied psychology at Humboldt University of Berlin before studying fine art at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, where she graduated in 2024 under Peter Piller. She lives and works in Bonn and Berlin.
• Ken Nwadiogbu (born 1994, Lagos, Nigeria) initially studied engineering before turning to art. He completed a Master’s degree in painting at the Royal College of Art in London, where he lives and works.