Wiesbaden, Germany
June 2025
Suzan Frecon has been awarded the Alexej von Jawlensky Prize by the state capital of Wiesbaden. The jury praised Frecon's consistently reduced work, which is characterized by its intense exploration of light, color, and material.
This year's jury, consisting of Prof. Dr. Christiane Lange, Director of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (chair of the jury), Ms. Christiane Meyer-Stoll, Chief Curator and Member of the Board of Directors of the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, and Prof. Dr. Frédéric Bußmann, Director of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, recognized the award to the American painter Suzan Frecon. She is the eighth recipient of the prize, following Agnes Martin (1991), Robert Mangold (1998), Brice Marden (2004), Rebecca Horn (2007), Ellsworth Kelly (2012), Richard Serra (2017), and Frank Stella (2022). The award ceremony will take place on the occasion of the 2027 exhibition associated with the prize at the Museum Wiesbaden.
From the jury's statement: "Suzan Frecon, born in 1941 in Mexico/Pennsylvania, has asserted herself for decades through her continuous work in a male-dominated art world. Her work impressively explores the interplay of light and color, with the varying surface structures of the utmost subtlety. The jury was impressed by the consistency and persistence of her exploration of the possibilities and limits of painting—beyond all fashions. With the reduction of her language, she creates intense works of quiet intimacy. This award honors an artistic oeuvre distinguished by its integrity, originality, and tranquility."