We congratulate Renate Bertlmann on her 80th birthday

The Viennese artist Renate Bertlmann has been dealing with love, eroticism and sexuality for more than 50 years, always questioning female role models. At the same time, Bertlmann, who among other things is the winner of the Grand Austrian State Prize, often faced harsh criticism, especially at the beginning of her career. The artist turns 80 on February 28.

Renate Bertlmann was born on February 28, 1943 in Vienna. She first studied at the Academy of Arts in Oxford and then painting, conservation and technology at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. There she was also a lecturer in artistic techniques. She already underpinned her feminist agenda with the pamphlet Why Doesn't She Paint Flowers? published in 1973, first proclaiming her artistic maxim Amo Ergo Sum (I love, therefore I am) a few years later. In 2019, Renate Bertlmann represented Austria at the Biennale.