Rene Matić Awarded 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize
8May 16, 2026
At the Photographers’ Gallery in London on May 14, Rene Matić wasannouncedas the winner of the £30,000Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation prize. They were recognized for the exhibition “AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH,” the artist’s first solo show in Germany, held at CCA Berlin from November 8, 2024 – February 15, 2025. Matić is the first British artist to win the prize in over a decade.
Matić, who is based in London, examines questions of race, gender, identity, intimacy, and subcultures through the mediums ofphotography, film, installation, and writing. They were also in contention for the2025 Turner Prize, standing as the second-youngest nominee in history.
Combining photography, sculpture, and installation, “AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH” is an extension an earlier show at Vitrine Gallery titled “Born British Die British,” centered around Matić’s relationship with their father. “I am interested in the line between blessing and burden. How to bring things to light and dark all at once,” the artist told The British Journal of Photography.
The other shortlisted artists for this year’s Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation prize—each of whom will receive £5,000—included Iranian photographer Amak Mahmoodian, American photographer Jane Evelyn Atwood, and Polish visual artist Weronika Gęsicka. Notably, Gęsicka is the first artist to be nominated for an exhibition featuring works produced with the help of generative AI.
An exhibition of the four shortlisted artists’ projects is on view at the Photographers’ Gallery from March 6 – June 7 this year. Subsequently, their work will travel to the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in Eschborn, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and be exhibited from September 3, 2026 – January 17, 2027.