The Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice celebrate Marina Abramović’s 80th birthday with Transforming Energy, the first major exhibition ever dedicated to a female artist in the museum’s history. Curated by Shai Baitel, Artistic Director of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai, and conceived in close collaboration with the artist, the show unfolds through both the permanent collection and the temporary exhibition spaces.
In dialogue with the masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance, Abramović’s works place the body at the center as a tool of transformation and awareness. Alongside seminal pieces such as Imponderabilia (1977), Rhythm 0 (1974), and Balkan Baroque (1997), the exhibition features her interactive Transitory Objects — stone and crystal structures inviting visitors to experience a “transmission of energy” — as well as new works created specifically for this occasion. A highlight of the exhibition is the encounter between Pietà (with Ulay) (1983) and Titian’s unfinished Pietà, offering a contemporary reflection on Renaissance representations of pain, transcendence, and redemption.
In Venice, a city long associated with the fusion of matter and spirit, Transforming Energy renews the dialogue between ancient and contemporary art, inviting a form of attentive, participatory presence that is both physical and meditative.
Featured image: Marina Abramovic, © Clara Melchiorre
