Timm Ulrichs Awarded 2020 Käthe Kollwitz Prize by Berlin's Akademie der Künste

Berlin's Akademie der Künste has awarded the Käthe Kollwitz Prize for 2020 to Timm Ulrichs. This German artist, celebrated for his 'Total Art' philosophy, will be honored with a significant exhibition that opens on 23 January and includes a prize of 12,000 euros. Ulrichs proclaimed himself 'the first living work of art' in 1961, after establishing his 'Advertising Agency for Total Art, Banalism and Extemporaneity' in 1959. His work, which transcends the lines between art and everyday life, has left a lasting impact on contemporary art. A jury featuring Ute Eskildsen, Wulf Herzogenrath, and Gregor Schneider praised Ulrichs for his self-taught approach, highlighting his political activism as a source of motivation for emerging artists. Since 1960, the Käthe Kollwitz Prize has honored visual artists, with recent recipients including Hito Steyerl (2019) and Adrian Piper (2018). Ulrichs, originally an architecture student, boasts a career rich in innovation.