Valie Export, Austrian feminist performance art pioneer, dies at 85
VALIE EXPORT, the renowned Austrian artist, passed away on 14 May 2026, just three days shy of her 86th birthday. Originally named Waltraud Lehner, she was born in 1940 in Linz and pioneered a bold artistic expression focused on the female form. Her death prompted tributes from various artists and institutions; Hettie Judah referred to her as a "hero to many women." UK artist Penny Davis remarked on her marginalization, while Nazli Kok Akbas commended her ability to turn the female body into a symbol of political empowerment. The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin showcased her 1968 performance, Tap and Touch Cinema. Among her significant works are TAPP und TASTKINO and Body Configurations, with her "birth bed installation" displayed at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London in 2019.
Key facts
- VALIE EXPORT died on 14 May 2026, three days before her 86th birthday.
- Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac.
- Born in 1940 in Linz as Waltraud Lehner.
- Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin features documentation of Tap and Touch Cinema in Extreme Tension until 25 April 2027.
- Stella Rollig of Belvedere Museum was in exchange with EXPORT about Feminist Futures Forever.
- In 2019, she showed Geburtenbett (1980) at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London.
- She said #MeToo has achieved only 10% of feminism's mission.
- Tap and Touch Cinema was staged across ten European cities from 1968 to 1971.
Entities
Artists
- VALIE EXPORT
- Waltraud Lehner
- Hettie Judah
- Penny Davis
- Nazli Kok Akbas
- Stella Rollig
- Peter Weibel
- Maria Lassnig
- Hermann Nitsch
- Günter Brus
- Otto Mühl
- Marina Abramović
- Ketty La Rocca
- Alberto Salvadori
- Andrea Maurer
- Ruth Askey
- Peter Hassmann
- Birgit Jürgenssen
- Rebecca Horn
- Dorothy Iannone
- Ulrike Rosenbach
- Martin Heidegger
- Cindy Sherman
- Walter Moser
- Valie Export
- Joseph Beuys
- Allan Kaprow
Institutions
- Thaddaeus Ropac
- The Guardian
- Neue Nationalgalerie
- Belvedere Museum
- Kunsthaus Bregenz
- Centre Pompidou
- The Art Newspaper
- Israel Museum
- Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz
- Fotomuseum Winterthur
- Albertina
- C/O Berlin Foundation
- MAK Center for Art and Architecture at Schindler House
- University of Wisconsin
- San Francisco Art Institute
- University of the Arts, Berlin
- Academy of Media Arts, Cologne
- Academy of Media Arts Cologne
- Palazzo Belgioioso
- Venice Biennale
- Galerie nächst St. Stephan
- High Performance
- exibart.com
- Thaddeus Ropac
- School of Arts and Crafts of Linz
- HBLVA for the textile industry of Vienna
- Berlin University of the Arts
- Albertina Museum Vienna
- Artribune
- VALIE EXPORT Center
- Tabakfabrik
- Documenta
- Museum of Modern Art
- Le Monde
- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
- La Biennale di Venezia
- exibart.es
- Biennale di Venezia
- MoMA
- MACBA
- Tate Modern
Locations
- Linz
- Austria
- Berlin
- Germany
- Vienna
- London
- UK
- Paris
- France
- Munich
- Jerusalem
- Israel
- Winterthur
- Switzerland
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Milan
- Italy
- Cologne
- Wisconsin
- Venice
- New York
- Barcelona