Carrie Yamaoka wins Maria Lassnig Prize 2025 – An art highlight!

Carrie Yamaoka wins Maria Lassnig Prize 2025 – An art highlight!

The art scene in Germany can be happy: The Maria Lassnig Prize 2025 goes to the talented Japanese-American artist Carrie Yamaoka. The prize is endowed with an impressive 50,000 euros and is awarded by the Maria Lassnig Foundation in cooperation with exhibition venues. With Yamaoka, the award is given to an artist who has firmly established herself in the international art world in recent years. Her work is diverse and exciting, which will also be reflected in her future presentation.

The Hamburger Kunsthalle plans to show a comprehensive exhibition of her works in mid-2026. This exhibition will provide an exciting opportunity to gain insight into Carrie Yamaoka's creative practice while also paying tribute to Maria Lassnig, who passed away in 2014. Lassnig, who lived from 1919 to 2014, is considered a pioneer of subjective painting and will be honored in a retrospective at the Hamburger Kunsthalle from the end of March 2026, which will take place in combination with the exhibition by Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

Double exhibition with Edvard Munch

What makes this upcoming exhibition so special? For the first time, the works of Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch are being presented in a large double exhibition. Both artists are known for their unique and idiosyncratic coloring, which they use as a means of expression in their work. The lively brushwork and the experimentation with which they apply their techniques show clear parallels between the two. Her works often address existential human emotions such as sadness, despair, fear, anger, joy and pain.

This emotional complexity allows visitors to the exhibition to immerse themselves in often ignored feelings and levels of perception. At the same time, the works offer intimate insights into the artists' biographies and paint a fascinating portrait of the time in which they were created. The exhibition, which is organized in close collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zurich, has the potential to inspire visitors from near and far and stimulate reflection.

Curator team and outlook

An experienced team of curators was recruited to carry out the exhibition. Dr. Brigitte Kölle heads contemporary art at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, supported by a number of other experts, including guest curator Prof. Dr. Hans Dieter Huber and Dr. Sandra Gianfreda from the Kunsthaus Zurich. The team is assisted by Noura Persephone Johnson, who plays an important role in the planning.

The opening of the exhibition is planned for the end of March 2026 and is already being anticipated with great anticipation. The awarding of the Maria Lassnig Prize 2025 to Carrie Yamaoka sets another exciting accent in the art scene, the impact of which could go beyond the exhibition in the Hamburger Kunsthalle. This award is not only a recognition of Yamaoka's work, but also a signal of the appreciation of contemporary art and its influence on our cultural landscape.