LAMAMIMET

Valie Export was born Waltraud Lehner on 17 May 1940 in Linz, Austria. She studied painting, drawing, and design in Vienna and adopted the name Valie Export in 1967, referencing a cigarette brand, to assert her artistic identity.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s she became a leading figure of feminist performance art, creating confrontational works such as the 1968 "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik" and the "Tap and Touch Cinema" series, which used her own body to challenge media representations of women.

Export expanded her practice to video installations, computer animations, photography, sculpture, and publishing, influencing generations of artists worldwide. She remained an active voice in contemporary art until her death on 14 May 2026 at the age of 85.