Depictions & Representations

Through to May 29, 2023, Fotomuseum Winterthur presents the first exhibition dedicated to the photographic oeuvre of multimedia artist Valie Export. Born in 1940, Export first became known in the 1960s and 70s for her groundbreaking – and often controversial – public performances and experimental installations. This showcase shines a light on the artist’s use of the photographic medium as a way to explore processes of depiction and representation; it also opens up new perspectives of her work at large, which ranges from film and video installations to drawings, sculpture and body art.

Export’s multi-disciplinary oeuvre transcends any definitive categorisation. An early pioneer of performance, installation and video art, she has consistently broken through the boundaries separating media genres, often using her own body as an artistic medium. From the very beginning, photography played a key role in Export’s creative practice – be it for documentary or experimental purposes, as an element in her multimedia installations, or as an art form in its own right.