Gozo Yoshimasu wins inaugural Serpentine x Flag Art Foundation Prize

Japanese poet and artist Gozo Yoshimasu, 87, has won the first Serpentine x Flag Art Foundation Prize, worth £200,000—the UK's largest contemporary art award. He will hold a solo exhibition at Serpentine North in London in autumn 2027, followed by a presentation at the Flag Art Foundation in Manhattan in spring 2028. The prize, which will honor five artists over ten years with a total of £1 million, aims to provide significant career-stage artists with time and resources for experimentation. The Flag Art Foundation was founded by collector Glenn Fuhrman and his wife Amanda. Yoshimasu's experimental poems challenge translation and dissolve boundaries between language, sound, and visual art. His work appeared in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo. The jury included Michelle Kuo of MoMA, Venus Lau of Museum Macan, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Jonathan Rider. Artists of any age and location are eligible if they have exhibited in major global institutions for less than ten years.