ART CITIES:London-Renate Bertlmann

Since the early ‘70s the feminist Avant-Garde artist Renate Bertlmann, has explored issues around the representation of sexuality and eroticism within a social context. Sigmund Freud famously suggested that the unhindered satisfaction of instinctual drives is ultimately incompatible with the reality principle of a civilized society–and Bertlmann’s art feeds off this tension.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Richard Saltoun Gallery Archive

 “Höhepunkte”, Renate Bertlmann’s first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom is on presentation at Richard Saltoun Gallery. Renate Berlmann studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1964 to 1970, followed by 12 years of teaching at the same academy. In her work, Bertlmann uses all kinds of media, from drawings, paintings, objects and installations through photographs, photo films and videos to performances and texts, in which she examines the erotic and biological conditions of the female existence. Her work is so provocative that Renate Bertlmann’s inclusion in the major exhibition, “Museum des Geldes” (1978), resulted in audience members calling for the removal of her work and for the artist to be prosecuted “…In the exhibition “Museum des Geldes” in the Städtischen Kunst halle in Düsseldorf, where I produced the installation “Wurf messerbraut” and the “Reliquie des Hl. Erectus”, for which I collected money during the performance “Die schwangere Braut mit dem Klingel beutel” (The Pregnant Bride with the Collection Bag). The collection bag took the form of an outsized condom, which obviously caused some confusion and disapproval. The exhibition was a large-scale one, it was supposed to travel on to two further locations. But both the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven refused to accept it”. The exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery showcases three of Renate’s most controversial works: “Rollstuhl (rot-groß)” (1975), “Uravagina” (1978) and “Bru(s)tkasten” (1984). These works, are exhibited alongside photographs and drawings from the ‘70s, illustrate her unique sensitivity to material and female tropes. “Rollstuhl (rot-groß)” (1975), a full-size replica of a wheelchair made of shocking neon pink Perspex was inspired by a play by Thomas Benrhard’s. The artist references human limitations and the fragility of the psyche through her distinct rendering of the object in neon. “Bru(s)tkasten” (1984), is a continuation of her “Messerbrüste” (1975) that “Caused strong reactions in men, but above all in women. Men felt threatened and women called the work anti-feminist, because it was masochistic and self-destructive. They could not understand the aesthetic idea of putting a knife in the breast, in order to refuse the status of the breast as a fetish object and object of desire”. Her references to literature and art history are subtly played out again in her 10-part work “Urvagina” (1978). Narrow strips of moulded latex hang from 10square boxes installed on the wall, each with a lancet shaped opening, 10 umbilical cords representing the universal power of women and their creative potential. The installation echoes the formal seriality of minimalism, but subverts it by the tactility of the latex nubs, each pooling on the ground below.

Info: Richard Saltoun Gallery, 111 Great Titchfield Street, London, Duration: 2/12/16-27/1/17, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-18:00, www.richardsaltoun.com