Presentation of the 2026 Caspar David Friedrich Prize and Opening of the Prize Winner's Exhibition
In October 2025, the jury selected Hajin Jeong—who is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts—as the recipient of the 2026 Caspar David Friedrich Prize. In addition to prize money and the publication of a postcard edition featuring two designs, the winner will now have an exhibition at the Friedrich-Zentrum gallery. The award ceremony will take place on October 10, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Caspar David Friedrich Gallery. Admission is free.
“Soft Hours” is Hajin Jeong’s first institutional solo exhibition in Germany. It brings together the artist’s paintings: emotionally charged scenes that are unconsciously collected and preserved in memory. The works begin with fleeting landscapes and moments, with views and places that leave a lasting emotional impact. Rather than reproducing these scenes exactly as they once were, Jeong allows memories and emotions to transform them. Through the openness of her painting, the artist makes her own memories accessible to viewers, inviting them to form an empathetic connection. The landscape changes with the inner state from which it is viewed. Traces of movement remain. Through color and the physicality of painting, fleeting impressions take on a new form.
Hajin Jeong’s works, which are at times provocative and stirring, are characterized by great versatility. In addition to painting, the artist creates leporellos and artist’s books, drawing on literary narratives in the process. Among other things, she shares with Caspar David Friedrich a practice of collecting memories and observations and assembling them in the studio.
Hajin Jeong, born in 1995 in Seoul, South Korea, studied painting at Hongik University in Seoul and at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. She lives and works in Berlin.
