Sabeth Buchmann

Sabeth Buchmann is a Professor of Modern and Postmodern Art History at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, specifically within the Institute for Art and Cultural Studies. She has held roles as second managing director of the Austrian Ludwig Foundation (2018–23) and serves on advisory boards for PoLyPen, Texte zur Kunst, and the European Kunsthalle. Her work critically examines socio-economic dimensions of art, labor, production, film/media history, and biopolitical discourses, with a focus on infrastructure's role in artistic practices.

Her research explores modern/postmodern art through lenses of labor theory, biopolitics, and rehearsal processes across visual and performing arts. Key publications include Art as Infrastructure (2023) and co-edited volumes like Broken Relations (2022) and Putting Rehearsals to the Test (2016). She co-founded the PoLyPen book series, blending art criticism and political theory.

Buchmann’s writings analyze artists like Sol LeWitt, Yvonne Rainer, and Hélio Oiticica, interrogating material practices and institutional frameworks. Through interdisciplinary collaborations and networked projects, such as the DFG Network Art & Work, she bridges artistic production with socio-political critique.