The 2026 Israel Prize for Visual Arts: Painting, Sculpture, and Photography will be awarded to artist Yaacov Agam, Education Minister Yoav Kisch announced on Wednesday. The prize will be presented in the evening following Israel’s 78th Independence Day.
The prize committee, chaired by Dr. Chaim Perluk and including Professor Gilad Dovshani and Dr. Nurit Sirkis-Bank, stated in its decision: “Yaacov Agam’s work has echoed a decades-long contribution to both Israeli and international art over the past 70 years. Agam broke the boundaries of traditional visual art and pioneered new languages in kinetic art and op art.”
According to the committee: “The central innovative element in his work over the years is the concept of internal change—both within the artwork itself and from the viewer’s shifting perspective. His pieces blend visual and musical elements, moving through space and time to reflect a dynamic, ever-evolving reality. His work expresses the belief that art must be in constant motion and transformation, just as reality is continuously being created and reshaped.”
Agam, 97, is one of Israel’s most renowned and celebrated artists, with significant international acclaim. His works have been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, in Amsterdam, and in France, where he lived and worked for many years. Among his most iconic pieces are the Fire and Water Fountain in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square, Jacob’s Ladder at Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, and the colorfully painted seaside façade of the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv.