Lawrence Weiner posthumously awarded the Oskar Kokoschka Prize 2022

Lawrence Weiner was posthumously awarded the Oskar Kokoschka Prize 2022, for outstanding achievements in the field of visual arts. The prestigious award is presented every two years by a ten-member jury chaired by the Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

The laureate’s widow, Alice Weiner, accepted the prize on her late husband’s behalf from the Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research, Martin Polaschek at the official ceremony last Thursday. Angela Stief, Director of the Albertina Modern, gave the laudatory speech on the artist.

Lawrence Weiner’s work has prominently shaped Austrian cityscapes for decades. In Vienna his powerful installation Smashed to pieces (in the still of the night) (1990) was on view at the former Flakturm in the 6th district from 1991 to 2019. Since May 2021, the work has been projected in an adapted form onto the facade of the University of Applied Arts Vienna. In Salzburg, INSIDE OF & OUTSIDE OF ITSELF (2005) is prominently presented on the exterior of the Museum der Moderne, overlooking the city.