Performing Body

Marina Abramović is among the seminal artists of our time. From her earliest career Abramović has pioneered the use of performance as an art form. The “body” has always been both her subject and medium. Exploring the physical and mental limits of her own being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion, and physical danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. Abramović creates works that amplify and ritualize the actions of everyday life and are, in effect, the manifestation of her own unique mental state. As a vital member of the generation of pioneering performance artists that includes Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, Chris Burden and others, Abramović has created an influential and enduring “body of work.”

From 1975 to 1988, Abramović and the German artist Ulay collaborated and performed together. After separating in 1988, Abramović returned to solo performance. In solo exhibitions around the world, Abramović has presented her performance work together with sound, photography, video, sculpture, and self-styled “Transitory Objects for Human and Non Human Use.” Marina Abramovic has taught and lectured extensively in Europe and America including the Hochschule für Bildende Künst in Hamburg, and the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1994, she became Professor for Performance Art at the Hochschule für Bildende Künst in Braunschweig where she taught for seven years. In 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was awarded the Golden Lion at the 1997 Venice Biennale for her extraordinary video installation and performance piece Balkan Baroque. In 2003, Abramović received the Bessie for The House with the Ocean View, a 12-day performance at the Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. In 2005, Abramović presented Balkan Erotic Epic at the Pirelli Foundation in Milan, Italy and at the Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. That same year, she held a series of performances called Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Upcoming exhibitions include a major retrospective at the Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn. Abramović’s work is included in major public collections worldwide.