Theo Triantafyllidis has been named the recipient of the 2026 Frieze London Artist Award, where he will present Feral Metaverse (Spider), a new participatory installation co-commissioned by Frieze, Forma and, for the first time, Google Arts & Culture.
Greek artist Theo Triantafyllidis has been announced as the recipient of the 2026 Frieze London Artist Award, where he will debut Feral Metaverse (Spider), an ambitious new participatory installation developed in collaboration with Forma and, for the first time, Google Arts & Culture.
The commission, presented during Frieze London at Regent's Park from 14–18 October, continues the award's tradition of supporting artists at pivotal moments in their careers while reflecting the growing role of advanced technologies in contemporary artistic practice.
Rather than presenting digital technology as a purely virtual experience, Triantafyllidis' new work brings it into the physical realm. At its centre is a large climbable spider-like sculpture that functions as the gateway to a live multiplayer game. Visitors are invited to climb, balance and collaborate with one another as their collective movements generate digital forms within a shared virtual environment.
The installation expands Triantafyllidis' ongoing exploration of networked worlds, replacing the competitive structures commonly associated with online gaming with systems built around cooperation, vulnerability and collective play. Players must work together to form temporary communal bodies—towers, wheels, embraces and spider-like structures—blurring the boundaries between sculpture, performance and digital interaction.
"The Frieze London Artist Award has always supported artists at a pivotal moment in their careers to realise work at a scale and ambition that might otherwise be out of reach," said Eva Langret, Director of EMEA at Frieze. She described Feral Metaverse (Spider) as a work that "demphasises physical presence," requiring visitors to participate rather than simply observe.
For Triantafyllidis, the spider serves as both symbol and structure. Although initially imposing, the soft, tactile sculpture encourages physical interaction, transforming the traditional relationship between artwork and audience. Instead of passive spectatorship, visitors become active participants whose cooperation determines the experience.
Speaking about the award, Triantafyllidis described the commission as "a supported leap of faith" that will allow his Athens-based team to develop both the sculptural installation and multiplayer game on a scale not previously possible.
The 2026 edition marks the first collaboration between the Frieze London Artist Award and Google Arts & Culture. This year's commission specifically invited artists to experiment with advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, as creative tools rather than ends in themselves. Google Arts & Culture's Head of Lab, Freya Salway, said the partnership reflects a shared interest in technology that fosters "human connection, play and shared experience."
Since its launch in 2014, the Frieze London Artist Award has become an important platform for emerging and mid-career artists, with previous recipients including Sophia Al-Maria, Lawrence Lek, Adham Faramawy, Abbas Zahedi, Sung Tieu and Alberta Whittle. Many have gone on to major institutional exhibitions and international biennials following their commissions.
Triantafyllidis has established an international reputation for creating immersive digital ecosystems that combine gaming, live simulation and installation. His practice frequently examines ecological collapse, digital culture and the increasingly blurred relationship between human and machine intelligence. His work has been exhibited at the Whitney Museum, Centre Pompidou and House of Electronic Arts, among other institutions.
As digital and participatory practices continue to occupy a larger place within contemporary art, Feral Metaverse (Spider) signals an evolution in how audiences engage with technology—not as isolated users behind screens, but as collaborators whose physical presence becomes integral to the artwork itself.
Feral Metaverse (Spider) will be presented in Frieze London's Focus section at The Regent's Park, London, from 14–18 October 2026.
Hero Image: Feral Metaverse: 4 Player Rig (MK-II), Theo Triantafyllidis, 2025. Installation view from Prototype group exhibition at Mercedes Benz Studio Odeons Platz. © Courtesy the Artist and The Breeder
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