Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian media and performance artist, has died at age 85 in Vienna. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name Valie Export in the late 1960s, derived from a cigarette brand, and became internationally known for provocative works such as "Tapp- und Tastkino" (1968) and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik." Her practice critically examined gender roles, power structures, and the representation of the female body through film, video, photography, and performance. She participated in major exhibitions including Documenta, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Modern Art, and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Maria Lassnig. She also taught as a professor of media and performance art in Berlin and Cologne, and the VALIE EXPORT Center opened in Linz in 2017.
Her death marks the loss of a foundational figure in feminist action, media, and performance art whose influence extended globally. Export challenged patriarchal norms in the male-dominated Viennese Actionism scene and opened pathways for generations of women artists. Her insistence on controlling her own image and name, along with her institutional recognition—including the Oskar-Kokoschka-Preis and the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art—cements her legacy as a transformative force in contemporary art. The continued operation of the VALIE EXPORT Center ensures her work and ideas will remain a resource for future research and practice.