Bucksbaum Award 2026 | Press | Whitney Museum of American Art

Established in 2000 by longtime Whitney trustee Melva Bucksbaum and her family, the Bucksbaum Award is given in each Biennial year in recognition of an artist, chosen from those included in the Biennial, whose work demonstrates a singular combination of talent and imagination. The selected artist is considered by the jurors to have the potential to make a lasting impact on the history of American art, based on the excellence of their past work, as well as of their present work in the Biennial. The award is accompanied by a check for $100,000.

The Whitney Museum of American Art has named Pat Oleszko the recipient of the 2026 Bucksbaum Award, which recognizes an artist featured in the Whitney Biennial whose work demonstrates exceptional talent, imagination, and the potential for lasting impact on American art. For more than five decades, Oleszko has developed a singular interdisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, performance, costume, installation, film, and public intervention, using humor and satire to engage urgent social, political, and environmental issues. Her work in Whitney Biennial 2026 includes the monumental inflatable sculpture *Blow Hard* (1995) and the short film *Footsi* (1979), on view through August 23. Oleszko is the 13th artist to receive the award, which is accompanied by $100,000 and supported by an endowment from the Martin Bucksbaum Family Foundation.