12 January – 24 February 2018

Thaddaeus Ropac presented the exhibition VALIE EXPORT, 'Body Configurations', 1972-76 curated by Caroline Bourgeois, chief curator of the Pinault Collection.

This new exhibition marked the first collaboration with the pioneer Austrian artist. As Caroline Bourgeois says: "VALIE EXPORT has always refused conventions. Rejecting the role of housewife, she turns to art with a sense of urgency. Her first and seminal gesture is when she dubs herself VALIE EXPORT—in all capital letters—to match the strength of an other self who may bear a masculine name. She has always questioned in a nearly phenomenological way the image and role of the female. More than ever before, her work seems relevant. Unfortunately – or fortunately – we must now and always remain in high alert around the question of the place of women in our societies. It’s far from being won. I think it’s precisely because of work like VALIE EXPORT’s that women today are more able to take on different roles for themselves and others. Like every great artist, she opens doors, widens the field, and transforms the territory."