Art prize-winning works

Art Prize Winners’ Works 2025/26

Painting, Sculpture, Photography/Digital Art, Audience Award.

Gefesselte Europa, Michael Gerstl, Obernzell

Jury statement on the work: Michael Gerstl has dedicated his painting to Surrealism, approaching the genre with an Old Master technique influenced as much by Dalí and Magritte as by Raphael, Vermeer, and Da Vinci. The result is not a photorealistic *trompe-l’œil*; instead, the deliberate painterly brushwork takes center stage, transporting the viewer into a realm of dreamlike ciphers. “Gefesselte Europa” (Europe Bound) fuses the fantastical with the events of the COVID-19 era in a multi-layered composition that invites us to explore, remember, and question. While it is impossible to address every detail here, the essence is this: a presumably naked female figure with bound hands stands atop a skull, upon which a depiction of the continent merges with a coronavirus. Wearing a medical mask that largely obscures her body, she is tethered to plumes of smoke rising from fire – that rage across a desolate, mountainous landscape. Numerous memories are evoked – mandatory vaccination, closed shops, toilet paper in short supply… Within a cleverly composed image, we are invited to discover and decipher the individual symbols—a powerful contribution to a difficult time that challenged our very existence.

Die Überführung des heiligen Hauses, Wolfgang Hiltscher, Göttingen

Jury statement on the work: This piece impresses with its compact design and a formal simplicity that borders on the archaic – yet it is rich in details that invite discovery. What we see is a small boat, its hull occupying nearly the entire lower half of the object. A framework of rods rests atop the hull, covered in turn by a horizontal grid. Standing on this grid are a headless angel figure and a small house; a turret on the roof alludes to a sacred context. Themes such as flight, the search for shelter and security, and the hope of a safe arrival come to mind. Indeed, this is precisely the subject matter – though it draws upon a largely unfamiliar legend concerning the House of Mary. According to the legend, the house fled Nazareth in 1291 when the Holy Land came under Islamic rule; carried away by angels, it was set down in the territory of present-day Croatia. Several further relocations followed before the house finally became a place of pilgrimage in Loreto. Wolfgang Hiltscher’s sculpture proves to be a powerful depiction that transcends the original context of the Christian legend, becoming a universal symbol of setting out, a fortunate journey, and arrival in a better existence.

Masc fatale, Kari A. Kalthoff, Hamburg

Jury statement on the work: “Masc Fatale” by Kari A. Kalthoff, in the Digital Art category, radiates pure energy. Powerful, rich in color, bursting with energy, and supremely self-assured, this work captivates with its stimulating “wow factor.” Yet, for all that “Masc Fatale” initially appears extroverted, we simultaneously perceive an impression of intimacy – a withdrawal into the self. Rendered with a restrained level of detail, the image shows a figure sitting on a pedestal, leaning their elbows on a raised step. The pedestal and step are depicted in a luminous yellow, with a diffuse, blurring shadow creating a sense of spatial depth. In contrast, clear contours define the folds of the clothing, rendered in a brilliant light violet and deep black, while jewelry and the soles of the boots gleam in radiant white. The figure cannot be clearly assigned to a specific gender; their clothing and demeanor blend masculine and feminine traits. The posture – thumbs extended and legs crossed -signals strength, triumph, and self-confidence. At the same time, however, we recognize a withdrawal into the self, a figure lost in thought: the torso is slightly hunched forward, the head is also inclined, and the face is obscured by the brim of a hat. Strength and energy, yet also vulnerability – “Masc Fatale” challenges our perceptions and invites us to discover and embrace new ways of seeing.

The Collaps Machine, Sascha Holzmann, Krefeld

The Audience Award offers us another – albeit vastly different – glimpse into the world of digital art. “The Collapse Machine” presents a dystopian vision of a civilization destroying itself. Here, digital technology – the very medium used to create this work – reveals its most destructive side. Set against the backdrop of the outwardly intact Capitol building, we witness the destruction of the Statue of Liberty; dragged down by chains, she sinks into a crowd of seemingly jubilant people. The horizon line is sharply tilted to the left, as if the buildings in the scene were sliding straight into an abyss. The statue’s face is reduced to mere fragments – only the eyes glow a cold red: a final flare-up in a world otherwise turned entirely gray and bleak? Smartphones fly through the air; one displays the logo of the platform X. What are we to make of a society that fails to harness its magnificent technological achievements to create a better world for all – and instead, while hurtling toward collective ruin, drives the wealth of a privileged few to absurd heights? In reality, we must not lose hope. In Sascha Holzmann’s vision, however, the tipping point has already been passed.

Art Prize Winners’ Works 2024/25

Painting, Sculpture, Photography/Digital Art.

Balloons, Painting, Jens Pollak, Großpostwitz, Saxony

Jens Pollak wins the GERMANY ART PRIZE in the painting category with his painting “Luftballons” (Balloons). His work impresses with its lightness and depth: balloons as a symbol of letting go, childhood, transience – and small moments of happiness. Pollak succeeds in creating a visual language that is quiet and yet full of expression. The colors and composition seem familiar and yet dreamlike and distant. The jury particularly praised his ability to create emotional resonance from a simple motif – without pathos, but with great clarity. “I didn’t think it would work right away,” said the artist. But “Luftballons” strikes a chord with the spirit of the times: quiet, poetic, sincere – and that is precisely where its power lies.

Greeting the rising star, photography-digital art, Katerina Belkina, Werder, Brandenburg

In “Greeting the Rising Star,” Katerina Belkina blends reality and staging into a poetic visual world. A figure stands at the center of a surreal composition—surrounded by silence, light, and space—as if she were part of another cosmos, on the threshold of something new. The jury was impressed by Belkina’s ability to achieve a strong emotional effect with minimal means. Her painterly, cinematic visual language tells of new beginnings, inner strength, and the beauty of imperfection. For our mind is a universe unto itself. It collects fragments of everyday life and shapes them into new worlds—imaginary landscapes of emotions, dreams, and thoughts. In this timeless sphere, new perspectives emerge, a planet in the hand – a being of hope and fear. Belkina’s work is a quiet plea for joie de vivre, overcoming boundaries, and focusing on the essential: the moment in the here and now.

In focus, Sculpture, Siegfried Luffler, Ilshofen, Baden-Württemberg

Siegfried Luffler’s work “Im Fokus” (In Focus) takes a critical look at the power of modern search engines and their algorithms. In an age where digital systems know us down to the last detail, the work raises questions about control, transparency, and privacy. “I know where you live, what you read, what you love, what you think.” The language is direct, almost intrusive. The work speaks in the voice of the machine that seems to know everything about us: consumer behavior, political views, preferences, social environment, even our perfume. But then comes the reversal: “And you know about me.” A moment of reflection. Who is actually the subject here, who is the object? Who is observing—and who is being observed? Luffler combines technical precision with socially critical expressiveness. The combination of traditional material (oak) and modern technology (acrylic) creates an exciting contrast that transfers our digital reality into the physical world. A work that provokes, reflects—and makes you think.