Sable Elyse Smith Wins Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize

The Contemporary Austin has named interdisciplinary artist, writer, and educator Sable Elyse Smith as the recipient of the 2026Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize. Smith will receive an unrestricted award of $200,000 and a solo exhibition of her work that will appear at the Texas institution in 2026 before traveling to the FLAG Art Foundation in New York. Considered one of the largest and most prestigious art honors in the United States, the biannual prize was established by collector Suzanne Deal Booth in 2016, with collector Glenn Fuhrman coming aboard in 2018. Past winners include Nicole Eisenman, Tarek Atoui, and Lubaina Himid.

Born in Los Angeles in 1986, Smith works across a variety of media, including photography, painting, and sculpture, to investigate the US prison-industrial complex and its role in and effects on society. Among the best known of her works are her ongoing “Coloring Book” series, paintings that reference the pages of coloring books designed to teach children about the American judicial and carceral system, andA Clockwork, 2021, her contribution to the 2022 Whitney Biennial. Resembling a Ferris wheel,A Clockworkis a jet-black assembly of steel tables of the type that might be found in the visiting room of a jail. Smith has enjoyed solo exhibitions at the Queens Museum, New York (2017–18), and Atlanta Contemporary (2018). Among the group shows she has participated in are “Grief and Grievance: Art and Mourning in America” at the New Museum, New York (2021); “Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration” at MoMA PS1, New York (2020–21); “Colored People Time: Banal Presents” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2019); and “Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon” at the New Museum (2017–18).

“Sable is a prescient voice among her generation with a dynamic artistic background, and does not shy away from asking challenging questions,” said Deal Booth in a statement. “It’s an honor to play a role in celebrating artists who are at an inflection point in their careers, and to support them with the platform, tools, and resources needed to access different communities and garner well-deserved exposure.”