--- type: exposition title: Renate Bertlmann language: en url: "https://www.belvedere.at/en/renate-bertlmann-1" --- # Renate Bertlmann ## Fragile Obsessions ![Renate Bertlmann, Knife-Pacifier-Hands](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/header_cropped_1920x480_fp/public/2022-09/Bertlmann%201.jpg.webp?itok=NDihwqDh) **Duration:** 29 September 2023 - 3 March 2024 Renate Bertlmann is one of the main protagonists of the Austrian feminist avant-garde. In recent years she has gained international attention, especially through her solo presentation at the Austrian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale 2019. On the occasion of her 80th birthday, the Belvedere honors her oeuvre with a first comprehensive retrospective. Bertlmann's radical, ironically provocative works subvert social attributions and stereotypes of gender, femininity, and masculinity, thus addressing the female body as a battlefield as well as the ambivalences of pleasure and pain, desire and discipline, tenderness and vulnerability. The artist draws both from conceptual and pop-cultural aesthetics, appropriates pornography and kitsch from an altered perspective, and references literature, film, medicine, religion, and spirituality. Her work is characterized by her interest in experimenting with a wide range of media and materials, such as conceptual photographs, drawings, paintings, collages, sculptures made of latex and Plexiglas, performances, and large-scale installations. The retrospective at Belvedere 21 includes some two hundred exhibits, ranging from the late 1960s to her recent artistic production, including iconic works from the 1970s, pivotal sculptures and installations, performative photographs, and drawings, as well as numerous works that will be on view for the first time. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive publication. Curated by Luisa Ziaja. Assistant Curator: Andrea Kopranovic \#RenateBertlmann ### [Belvedere 21](https://www.belvedere.at/en/visit/belvedere-21) **Opening hours:** Tuesday to Sunday, 11 am - 6 pm; Late Night: Thursday, 11 am - 9 pm **Address:** Belvedere 21, 1030 Vienna ([Getting there]()) [Tickets](https://www.belvedere.at/en/tickets?location%5B0%5D=4) ##### In cooperation with - [derstandard.at](http://derstandard.at/) - [Parnass](https://www.parnass.at/) ## Impressions - ![Renate Bertlmann, Messerschnullerhände — Renate Bertlmann, Knife-Pacifier-Hands - Ambivalences 1, 1981 — Courtesy of Richard Saltoun Gallery, London and Rome — © Renate Bertlmann/ Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-09/Bertlmann%201.jpg.webp?itok=yKdsstww) - ![Renate Bertlmann, Messerschnullerhände — Renate Bertlmann, Knife-Pacifier-Hands - Ambivalences 3, 1981 — Courtesy of Richard Saltoun Gallery, London and Rome — © Renate Bertlmann/ Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-09/Bertlmann%202.jpg.webp?itok=gkKPa6rd) - ![Renate Bertlmann, Messerschnullerhände über Kubus — Renate Bertlmann, Knife-Pacifier-Hands with Cube, 1981 — courtesy: Renate Bertlmann — © Renate Bertlmann/ Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/11-Bertlmann-Ambivalenzen-3--sw-korr-korr-1983.jpg.webp?itok=7Q9KpIUB) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-004.jpg.webp?itok=cuGklHS0) - ![Objekt eines hautfarbenen Herzen mit Busen und Messer — Renate Bertlmann, Ex Voto, 1985 — Courtesy Renate Bertlmann — © Renate Bertlmann / Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/13_Bertlmann-Ex-Voto_1985.jpg.webp?itok=fi9U4eUS) - ![Fünf unterschiedlich große bunte Schmetterlinge — Renate Bertlmann, Diverse Farphalle Impudiche, 1983 — courtesy: Renate Bertlmann — © Elfriede Mejchar](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/12-Bertlmann%2C%20Farphalle%20Impudiche%2C%20Elfriede%20Mejchar%2C%201983.jpg.webp?itok=M1mRBD6c) - ![Farbfotografie von zwei farbigen Latexschnullern — Renate Bertlmann, Zärtliche Berührungen - Tableau, 1976/2009 — Courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery, London and Rome — © Renate Bertlmann / Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/6-Renate%20Bertlmann%20z%C3%A4rtliche%20Ber%C3%BChrungen_2009.jpg.webp?itok=WfGfkIqz) - ![Renate Bertlmann schießt zwei Sexpuppen mit Steinschleuder an — Renate Bertlmann, Sling Shot Action, 1980 — courtesy: Renate Bertlmann — © Reinhold Bertlmann](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/8-Bertlmann%20Sling%20Shot%20Action%20%2C%20New%20York%2C%201980.jpg.webp?itok=bLSKxc1i) - ![Schwarzer und weißer Rollstuhl — Renate Bertlmann, Bride and Groom, 1975 — courtesy: Artothek des Bundes, Vienna — © Elfriede Mejchar](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/5-%20Bertlmann%20-%20Braut%20und%20br%C3%A4utigam%201975.jpg.webp?itok=ZrPFgDlH) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-011.jpg.webp?itok=7O2-f2zW) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-006.jpg.webp?itok=E39_uRiq) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-007.jpg.webp?itok=zcvIP0Zf) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-009.jpg.webp?itok=jRcsZnG2) - ![Rollstuhl aus gelben Plexiglas — Renate Bertlmann, Wheelchair Type Easy Rider, 1975 — Courtesy Private collection, Vienna — © Renate Bertlmann / Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/63-1975_Rollstuhl-Easy-Rider_-Kopie.jpg.webp?itok=F3fMHo8m) - ![Baukasten aus transparentem und pinken Plexiglas — Renate Bertlmann, Wheelchair Construction Kit, 1975 — courtesy: Renate Bertlmann — © Renate Bertlmann / Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/3-Bertlmann%20Baukasten%20rot%201975.jpg.webp?itok=0xOhKANZ) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-001.jpg.webp?itok=aBq4Hh4k) - ![Ausstellungsansicht "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessionen" im Belvedere 21 — Installation view "Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions" — Photo: Johannes Stoll / Belvedere, Vienna © Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2023-09/B21%20Renate%20Bertlmann%20PR-002.jpg.webp?itok=7IoBh24K) - ![Zeichnung eines Körpers und abstrakten Formen — Renate Bertlmann, Bride II (Brecht's “A Respectable Wedding”), 1973 — Courtesy of Richard Saltoun Gallery, London and Rome — © Renate Bertlmann / Bildrecht, Vienna 2023](https://www.belvedere.at/sites/default/files/styles/equal_height_slider_1x/public/2022-10/2-Bertlmann%20Die%20Braut%20I%20-%20Kleinb%C3%BCrgerhochzeit_1973.jpg.webp?itok=OStAQhYf) ## Videos **Interview with Renate Bertlmann** --- **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 1)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 2)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 3)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 4)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 5)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 6)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 7)** **Renate Bertlmann. Fragile Obsessions (Part 8)** **Renate Bertlmann. Performances aktualisieren**