The J. Paul Getty Trust has awarded its 2024 Getty Prize to the Los Angeles-based artist Mark Bradford. Starting this year, the award comes with $500,000 for the winner to donate to a non-profit of their choice. (Bradford has yet to announce his pick.)
Best known for his large-scale abstract paintings and collages, Bradford explores the social and political structures that objectify marginalised groups and individuals. He also works in sculpture, video, photography, printmaking and installation, and he often organises social projects and educational workshops in underserved communities. He is a co-founder of the Los Angeles non-profit Art + Practice, which focuses on issues related to education, foster care and the arts.
“I am deeply honoured to be among the illustrious recipients of the Getty Prize and am grateful for this opportunity to bring such generous support to a non-profit organisation of my choosing,” Bradford said in a statement.
The Getty Prize was founded in 2013 as the “Getty Medal” to recognise “leaders in the cultural fields whose work expands human understanding and appreciation of arts and culture”. Past winners include the artists Ellsworth Kelly, Anselm Kiefer, Martin Puryear, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra and Lorna Simpson.