American conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner has been awarded the Roswitha Haftmann Prize. Weiner becomes the 15th recipient of Europe’s most valuable contemporary art award worth CHF 150,000 ($157,000), and accepted the prize at a ceremony at the Kunsthaus Zürich on May 21.

The Roswitha Haftmann Foundation recognizes outstanding achievements in the visual arts. Award winners are living artists selected by the six-person board of the foundation based only on the artistic significance of their work—irrespective of nationality, age, or gender.

Born in New York in 1942 Weiner’s early works focused on shaped canvasses. In 1968 Weiner started to experiment with language as an artistic medium and since 1970 his work has primarily encompassed wall installations featuring text, punctuation and color (see Lawrence Weiner and Jill Magid, On Self-Censorship).

Weiner’s work has been featured at the Venice and São Paulo Biennials and the artist has enjoyed successful solo exhibitions at the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Museum Ludwig, Cologne; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Weiner joins an illustrious list of artists who have previously won the prestigious award including Cindy Sherman, Carl Andre, Sigmar Polke, and Robert Ryman.