VALIE EXPORT
Dr. h.c., media artist, performance artist, filmmaker
born in 1940 in Linz
VALIE EXPORT passed away on May 14, 2026, in Vienna.
VALIE EXPORT’s artistic practice encompasses, among other things, video environments, digital photography, installations,
body performances, feature films, experimental films, documentaries, expanded cinema, conceptual photography, and body-material
interactions. Persona performances, laser installations, objects, sculptures, and texts on contemporary art history and feminism.
VALIE EXPORT is regarded as one of the most important international pioneers of conceptual media, performance, and film art.
In 1967, the artist coined her stage name VALIE EXPORT as an artistic concept and logo, stipulating that it be written only in all caps
Starting in 1975, she undertook curatorial projects, international symposia, exhibitions, and film programs
In 1985, EXPORT’s feature film “The Practice of Love,” which she wrote and directed, was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In 2019, she was awarded the Roswitha Haftmann Prize for her outstanding achievements in the visual arts. In 2022, VALIE EXPORT received the Max Beckmann Prize from the City of Frankfurt and the Grand Silver Medal of Honor with Star for services to the Republic of Austria.
VALIE EXPORT participated in documenta 12 in 2007 and in documenta 6 in 1977, both in Kassel.
This was followed by participations in the Kochi Biennale in 2018 and the Moscow Biennale in 2019.
VALIE EXPORT has been represented by the Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery since 2018 and by Karma International, Zurich, since 2024.
She is represented with significant bodies of work in major museum collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the MoMA in New York, and the MOCA in Los Angeles, to name just a few.
Since 1968, she has participated in numerous international exhibitions, including documenta 6 and 12 (1977 and 2007), the Austrian Pavilion at the 1980 Venice Biennale, as well as the 2018 Kochi Biennale and the 2007 and 2019 Moscow Biennales.
Her work is represented by significant bodies of work in major museum collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the MoMA in New York, and the MOCA in Los Angeles, to name just a few.
In recent years, her works have been exhibited at venues including the Schindler House, Los Angeles (2024); C/O Berlin (2024); the Albertina, Vienna (2023); the Fotomuseum Winterthur (2023); the Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2020); MaRe (2020); Pavillon Populaire, Montpellier (2019), Neue Berliner Kunstverein (2018); Lentos Art Museum, Linz (2020, 2017); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2011, 2023); Belvedere Museum, Vienna (2010); Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2009); and the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2007) have dedicated major solo exhibitions to her work.
Participation in international film and video festivals, including the International London Film Festival; Filmex, Los Angeles; and the International Film Festivals of Berlin, Cannes,
Montreal, Vancouver, San Francisco, Locarno, Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, etc.
Founding of the VALIE EXPORT Center Linz in 2015
Acquisition of VALIE EXPORT’s pre-posthumous collection, known as the VALIE EXPORT Archive. With this acquisition, the City
of Linz laid the foundation for the operation of the VALIE EXPORT Center, an international research center for media and performance art. The city acquired the VALIE EXPORT Archive, consisting of artworks, sketches, drafts, negatives, and other extensive archival
materials from the body of work of the Linz-born artist. The VALIE EXPORT Center opened in October 2017.
Establishment of the VALIE EXPORT Foundation in 2023
Media artist VALIE EXPORT has established a nonprofit foundation named after her in Vienna.
“I am absolutely delighted that the establishment of this foundation will ensure the future of my work and that I personally have the opportunity to help shape and develop it,” said VALIE EXPORT. The plan is to develop a program from her extensive body of work that engages the public with the artist’s active participation, for example through studio visits for groups, opening the space to students for research purposes, or a regular “VALIE EXPORT Office Hour” for young artists.
Sigrid Guggenberger (Studio VALIE EXPORT) and Manfred Wagner, managing director of the tax consulting firm Intercura, serve as the foundation’s board members. The artist has recruited the renowned members Yilmaz Dziewior (Museum Ludwig, Cologne), Sabine Folie (Kunstsammlungen Akademie der bildenden Künste, Wien), Michael Loebenstein (Filmmuseum, Vienna), and Thomas D. Trummer (Kunsthaus Bregenz) to serve on the board of trustees. The board of trustees is chaired by foundation law expert Maximilian Eiselsberg (Eiselsberg Rechtsanwälte GmbH).