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Ryoji Ikeda wins the 2026 Nam June Paik Prize
Japanese electronic artist and composer Ryoji Ikeda has been awarded the 2026 Nam June Paik Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards in the field of electronic art and new media. The prize, awarded by the Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, South Korea, is in its ninth year.
Ikeda will receive a prize of 50 million South Korean won, approximately $36,300, during a ceremony to be held on September 8 at the art center. The institution will also dedicate an exhibition to the artist in 2027, showcasing a selection of his work and exploring the lines of inquiry that have shaped his career.
Born in Japan and residing between Paris and Kyoto, Ikeda began to gain notoriety in the 1990s with minimalist compositions linked to the so-called glitch , in which he incorporated errors, interruptions and alterations typical of digital media and sound reproduction media of the time.
Over the years, her practice has expanded to include large-scale installations and immersive performances in which sound, light, image, and mathematics intertwine. Her works explore how technological systems organize and transform our perception of information, turning abstract structures and complex data into sensory experiences.
During the last decade, his work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at international institutions, including the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
The award recognizes precisely this ability to place technology at the center of artistic and critical reflection. Ellen Pau, co-founder and artistic director of the Hong Kong-based cultural organization Videotage and a member of the nomination committee, highlighted the relationship between Ikeda's research and the legacy of Nam June Paik, considered one of the pioneers of video art and a key figure in understanding the link between art, technology, and contemporary culture.
According to Pau, Ikeda's approach to fields such as data visualization, algorithmic processing, and signal theory connects directly with the forward-thinking vision that characterized Paik's work. His work, he noted, makes visible infrastructures and systems that usually remain hidden, while also opening up debates about information, surveillance, and scale.
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