CARRIE YAMAOKA

The Hamburger Kunsthalle is presenting the first solo exhibition in Germany devoted to the artist Carrie Yamaoka (b. 1957). The occasion for the show in the atrium of the Galerie der Gegenwart is the awarding of the Maria Lassnig Prize to the New York-based, multidisciplinary artist. Yamaoka’s interest in mutable materials and surfaces has given rise to works that often combine photography with text panels and reflective image supports. Chemical processes and fleeting transformations also play an important role in her work as she investigates the possibilities available for recording and documentation. Sometimes the artist revisits her earlier works after a few years and alters them, thus challenging the standard chronological development of an artistic oeuvre. The mirror-like surfaces of works that oscillate between painting, photography and sculpture cause space, light and viewers to intermingle in constantly changing perspectives and manifestations.

Carrie Yamaoka was born in New York State and grew up partly in Japan. She is a member of the queer artists’ collective fierce pussy, which she co-founded in the early 1990s (together with Joy Episalla, Zoe Leonard, and Nancy Brooks Brody †). Still active today, the collective formed in the midst of the AIDS epidemic and political mobilisation for the rights of the LGBTQI+ community.

Every two years, the Maria Lassnig Foundation awards a prize worth 50,000 euros to mid-career artists who deserve more recognition for their contribution to art. The prize was conceived by the painter herself, who died in 2014, and was awarded for the first time in 2017. It includes a solo exhibition at a prominent institution. Previous winners of the Maria Lassnig Prize are Lubaina Himid (2023, UCCA Beijing), Atta Kwami (2021, Serpentine Galleries, London), Sheela Gowda (2019, Lenbachhaus Munich) and Cathy Wilkes (2017, MoMA PS1, New York).
The jury of the Maria Lassnig Prize 2025 consisted of Peter Pakesch (Chairman of the Board, Maria Lassnig Foundation), Alexander Klar (Director, Hamburger Kunsthalle), Hans Ulrich Obrist (Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries), Matthias Mühling (Director, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich), Rosa Barba (Artist), Brigitte Kölle (Director & Exhibition Curator for Contemporary Art, Hamburger Kunsthalle) and Corinne Diserens (Director & Exhibition Curator for Contemporary Art, Hamburger Kunsthalle).

The major double exhibition Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch. Flow of Paint = Flow of Life is on display at the Galerie der Gegenwart until 30 August 2026. For the first time, the exhibition brings together works by the Austrian artist Maria Lassnig (1919–2014) and the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944). Comprising almost 200 works, the exhibition is complemented by loans from partner institutions including the Maria Lassnig Foundation, Kunsthaus Zürich and Munchmuseet in Oslo, as well as works from other international museums and private collections.

Special Events for the Exhibition:
Friday, 21 August 2026, 11 a.m. (In English, Duration: 90 minutes)
Artist Talk with Carrie Yamaoka
Admission: included in museum admission
Room: Event Space, Galerie der Gegenwart

Friday, 4 September 2026, 11 a.m. (Duration: 45 minutes)
Curator-led tour with Assistant Curator Michelle Adler
Admission: 0 Euro plus museum admission / Tickets available in advance
Meeting point: Foyer, Galerie der Gegenwart
As part of Hamburg Art Week