Valie Export (1940 - 2026) - Smart Export

Valie Export (1940 - 2026), Smart Export - Photographic Art in Austria, 2013.

Color lithograph and stamp on light cardboard in postcard format, 14.6 x 10.5 cm as well as stamp 4.2 x 3.4 cm. Hand-signed. This is a first-day cover, which, due to the signature, becomes a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art).

Provenance: Private collection, Berlin.

Condition: Very good condition. The illustrations are part of the condition description.

VALIE EXPORT (1940–2026) was one of the most radical and influential artists of the international feminist avant-garde. Born in Linz, the Austrian multi-media, performance- and conceptual artist made the female body the stage for social power relationships and fundamentally questioned the male-oriented gaze on sexuality, identity, and corporeality. With pioneering works such as "Tapp und Tastkino" (1968) and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik" (1969), she wrote art history.

In 1967, born Waltraud Lehner, the artist dropped her civil name and declared herself, under the name VALIE EXPORT, written entirely in uppercase, an independent artistic brand. Her multifaceted oeuvre includes performance art, photography, experimental film, video, installation, sculpture, and theoretical writings. With her uncompromising engagement with patriarchal structures, media images of women, and societal control of the body, VALIE EXPORT shaped generations of artists. Her works are today in major international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. VALIE EXPORT died on May 14, 2026 in Vienna and left one of the most important feminist total works of art since 1945.