Conversation between Andrea Büttner and Mason Leaver-Yap 

2 December 20, 8 pm
In English

The online event takes place via Zoom. Reservations are required in advance at reservation@kw-berlin.de.

From shaming and shamefulness to shame-avoidance and shamelessness, the experience of shame influences our social behaviours, decision-making abilities, and desires. Shame determines what we show and what we hide. And yet, as an emotion that begs for its own concealment, what is the structure and appearance of shame? How does shame interact with the realm of the visible, and where does it surface in visual culture? 

This online discussion marks artist Andrea Büttner’s long-awaited book, Shame (Koenig Books, 2020). In conversation with the book’s editor and KW Associate Curator Mason Leaver-Yap, Büttner discusses definitions and representations of shame, and her historical and contemporary analysis of shame’s aesthetics and power.

Andrea Büttner (b. 1972, Stuttgart, DE) lives and works in Berlin. Her practice connects art history with social or ethical issues, exploring broad-ranging topics such as poverty, work, community, belief, botany, Catholicism, and philosophy. Her work is based on thorough research into specific areas or situations, and is articulated through diverse formats including printmaking, sculpture, painting, weaving, photography, and video. Büttner was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2017 and is a winner of the 2009 Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Selected solo exhibitions include Shepherds and Kings, Bergen Kunstall, Bergen, NO (2018); Hammer Projects: Andrea Büttner, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, US (2017); Beggars and iPhones, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2015); Andrea Büttner, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, US (2015); Spotlight: Andrea Büttner, Tate Britain, London, GB (2014); Andrea Büttner. 2, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, DE (2014); Andrea Büttner, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, DE; and The Poverty of Riches, Whitechapel Gallery, London, GB / Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, IT (2010). She participated in Documenta 13 (2012) and the 29th and 33rd Bienal de São Paulo, BR (2010 and 2018). Recent group shows include On Vulnerability and Doubt, AT Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia (2019); Tell me about yesterday tomorrow, NS Dokumentationszentrum Munich, DE (2019); Turner Prize exhibition, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, GB (2017); and British Art Show 8, GB touring exhibition (2016). Her work is in the permanent collections of many institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, US; Tate, London; Centre national des arts plastiques, Paris; Sammlung zeitgenössicher Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, DE; MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Lenbachhaus, Munich, DE; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid; and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. She has published several artist’s books, including, most recently, The Book of Vagabonds: The Mendecant Order (2019). Büttner’s book Shame was released by Koenig Books in autumn 2020.