junger westen art prize 2025

The winner and 22 finalists on view now at Kunsthalle Recklinghausen
The jury for the 40th junger westen art prize, in this edition awarded in the category of painting, has selected 22 artists for the group exhibition from among 690 applications: 

Annabelle Agbo Godeau (Düsseldorf), Johanna Ehmke (Cologne), Nicholas Grafia (Düsseldorf), Rahel grote Lambers (Berlin), Monilola Olayemi Ilupeju (Berlin), Lucas Kaiser (Leipzig), Tobias Kerger (Düsseldorf), Jody Korbach (Düsseldorf), Gašper Kunšič (Frankfurt am Main), Sojeong Lee (Düsseldorf), Janis Löhrer (Berlin), Line Lyhne (Frankfurt am Main), Sol Namgung (Leipzig), Minh Phuong Nguyen (Vienna), Matthias Noggler (Berlin), Aduni Ogunsan (Mönchengladbach), Jan-Luka Schmitz (Düsseldorf), Tariano Schneider (Hamburg), Rui Suzuki (Düsseldorf), Kiriakos Tompolidis (Berlin), Salwa Wittwer (Leipzig), and Seoyoung Yun (Düsseldorf).

At the same time, the jury has awarded the 20,000 EUR junger westen art prize to Jeehye Song (1991, Seoul/South Korea), based in Düsseldorf. Her solo presentation spans the entire middle floor of the Kunsthalle, with the group show of finalists in the rest of the museum.

Jeehye Song not only impressed the jury with her extraordinary pictorial inventions and formal precision, but also with a depth of content that extends far beyond a purely visual experience. Her work navigates between painterly tradition, contemporary visual language, and conceptual reflection—using this tension to pose central questions about the role of the artist and the function of painting today. In doing so, she remains deeply rooted—in the best sense—in the traditions of the genre.

Jeehye Song completed her studies at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 2021 as a master student of Prof. Andreas Schulze. She has received numerous awards and grants in Germany and internationally. Her solo and group exhibitions span Germany, Denmark, Finland, Italy, South Korea, and the United States. She was shortlisted for the Paula Modersohn-Becker Art Prize in 2024.

The junger westen art prize is the first art prize initiated by a German municipality after 1945. Established in 1948, it commemorates the junger westen artist group, founded a year earlier in Recklinghausen by painters Gustav Deppe, Thomas Grochowiak, Emil Schumacher, Heinrich Siepmann, Hans Werdehausen, and sculptor Ernst Hermanns.

The prize is awarded biennially as a sponsorship award by the City of Recklinghausen, with support from the Cultural Foundation of the Stadtsparkasse Recklinghausen. Thanks to additional funding from the Rotary Club Recklinghausen and the Ulrike and Bernd Tönjes Foundation, the prize money has been increased from EUR 10,000 to 20,000 since 2023. This increased amount will continue for future editions through 2031.

Exhibition concept: Nico Anklam

Exhibition curators: Nico Anklam, Kerstin Weber-Baumann

The visual identity of junger westen was designed by studio saskia hoefler-hohengarten and studio kela-mo.

Our media partner is WDR3.

The Museums of the City of Recklinghausen 
2025—75 years of Kunsthalle Recklinghausen 

Museum Director and Head of the Kunsthalle: Dr. phil. Nico Anklam 
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeit/Exhibtions Curator: Kerstin Weber-Baumann, M.A. 

For all press inquiries, please contact Kerstin Weber-Baumann at weber at kunst-re.de.