VALIE EXPORT. Die Doppelgängerin

A single work in the open air: a monumental bronze of two giant pairs of scissors locked into one figure, by the Austrian feminist art pioneer VALIE EXPORT. It is on view on Central Square (Plac Centralny) beside the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw from 18 September 2026 to 16 March 2027, and admission is free.

Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw on the exhibition:

Die Doppelgängerin is a monumental sculpture in bronze, depicting twin pairs of oversized scissors. Unsettling and ambiguous, the object remains open to interpretation. The title draws on the German word for “look-alike” (der Doppelgänger) and the related notion of one’s spiritual companion, the “other self” or “shadow,” as held in popular belief. The idea entered the collective consciousness through Romantic literature, propounded by the eighteenth-century German writer Jean Paul (born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) who is said to have coined the term, although similar figures had appeared in Scandinavian and Irish cultures too. In the humanities, the concept of a doppelgänger has served to reflect on the duality of human nature, on hidden personality traits, or on complex identities.

The piece by VALIE EXPORT features that figure in female form, adding the suffix “-in” to create a new word and a new understanding. Her representation of it is one of a doubled pair of scissors rendered on a grand scale. These can be seen here as the attribute of a seamstress - symbolizing needlework, which is stereotyped as a woman’s chore - but also as the tool used for film editing. Or they possibly refer to physical enhancement, hinting at surgical procedures or trimming. Upscaled to become larger than life, they gain significant symbolic weight which is distributed evenly between violent control (over women’s bodies) and agency (when held in the right hands), while repetition increases their interpretive potential.

Erected in downtown Warsaw, the scissors remind us both of the historical horrors of the place and of the real role of women who were pushed to the very margins of social life. At the same time they stand for cutting the ties with the past, marking new beginnings. It is up to us what exactly they’re going to mean - depending on what we do, or fail to do, in the days and years to come.

What to expect

This is not a show inside the galleries but a sculpture in public space. The museum gives the location as Central Square, open 24 hours a day, and its press invitation places the piece by the MSN building at ul. Marszałkowska 103, in the heart of the city centre. No ticket, no opening hours to plan around.

The sculpture itself takes a few minutes, but walk all the way round it. Two pairs of scissors twist into one figure, and what they mean depends on what you read into them: a seamstress’s tool, a film editor’s, a surgeon’s. The title is a feminine form of the German “Doppelgänger”, which the artist coined by adding the suffix “-in”.

The piece is part of MSN’s autumn programme of public sculpture. The unveiling is set for 18 September 2026, according to the museum’s press invitation. As of 16 September 2026 the museum had not announced a public event with booking.

Context

VALIE EXPORT (born Waltraud Lehner, 1940-2026) was an Austrian artist and one of the pioneers of video, performance and “expanded cinema”. In 1967 she took her name from a popular Austrian cigarette brand, dropping both her father’s and her former husband’s surnames. She made her name with street actions in the late 1960s. The best known is “Tapp und Tastkino” (Tap and Touch Cinema): passers-by could reach into a box strapped over her bare chest, on her own terms, as the museum puts it.

She died in Vienna on 14 May 2026, so the Warsaw presentation comes after her death.

Tickets and time

• Free. The sculpture stands on Central Square, which the museum describes as open 24 hours a day.
• Dates: 18 September 2026 to 16 March 2027.
• How long: 5-10 minutes for the sculpture alone. Pair it with a visit to MSN or a walk through the centre.
• Getting there: Świętokrzyska (M1 and M2) and Centrum (M1) metro stations are a few minutes’ walk away. The museum stands on plac Defilad, beside the Palace of Culture and Science.
• When to go: any time. Evenings, or days when the MSN building is closed, work just as well.
• English on site: the museum’s page has an English version with the full text; it does not say whether there is an English label at the sculpture.

Who it is for: anyone already around Marszałkowska Street and the Palace of Culture, and anyone interested in feminist art or the history of performance. Do not cross the city just for this unless VALIE EXPORT matters to you; as an add-on to a museum visit, it is well worth the short detour.

What the press says

Three previews, all based on the museum’s announcements, appeared before the unveiling; there are no reviews yet. All three are in Polish.

• Well.pl, via PAP Life (10.09.2026): a report from MSN’s sculpture-season press presentation, where director Joanna Mytkowska linked the scissors’ symbolism - control, but also a new beginning - to the history of Central Square - article
• PropertyDesign.pl (11.09.2026, ed. AL): the sculpture will join MSN’s collection - article
• Label Magazine (15.09.2026, MG): a preview of the joint MSN and Zachęta “Sculpture Season”, presenting the scissors as both a working tool and an instrument of violence - article

See also

• Sculpture After Stability - MSN’s large survey of contemporary sculpture, opening 16 October 2026; the next part of the same autumn programme.
• Dominika Olszowy. Sand Fountain - part of the same MSN autumn sculpture season; the sculpture stands on the museum’s terrace.
• Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw - tickets, hours and the free ground-floor Gallery A, a few steps from the sculpture.
• In the Very Bowels of Changes: Surrealism and Antifascism - inside the MSN building until 10 January 2027, if the sculpture makes you want to go in.

Museum profile: Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej.