1. Marina Abramović, The Hero, 2001, Single channel video (black/white, sound), Display case with objects from the property of Vojin Abramović (not shown), video: 14', 21'; objects : variable dimensions © Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives / 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich
Marina Abramović (b. 1946, Belgrade) is one of the most influential and groundbreaking figures in contemporary art. For over 55 years, she has pushed the boundaries of performance art, challenging the limits of physical endurance, mental resilience, and the role of the audience in the artistic process.
From October 25, 2024, to February 16, 2025, Kunsthaus Zürich present the first major retrospective of her work in Switzerland. This landmark exhibition spans her entire career, showcasing pivotal works from different periods, live restagings of iconic performances, and an entirely new installation created specifically for Kunsthaus Zürich that directly involves the public.
But how does one translate the ephemeral nature of performance art into an institutional retrospective? How can an artist who has consistently tested the limits of the human body and audience engagement be exhibited in a way that remains true to her radical ethos?
Marina's life
2. Marina Abramović, The Message, 2024, Edition for the Kunsthaus Zürich, © Marina Abramović, photo from Michel Comte
Abramović emerged in the 1970s as a pioneer of performance art, using her own body as both medium and subject. Her early works, including the "Rhythm" series (1973-1974), tested the limits of pain, endurance, and vulnerability, as seen in "Rhythm 0" (1974), where she offered herself to the audience along with 72 objects, some of which could inflict harm, relinquishing control over her body.
Between 1976 and 1988, she collaborated with Ulay, her artistic and romantic partner, producing intense performances that explored themes of trust, intimacy, and endurance. Their partnership culminated in "The Lovers" (1988), a symbolic farewell in which they each walked 2,500 km along the Great Wall of China from opposite ends, meeting in the middle for a final goodbye.
Following their separation, Abramović continued to evolve, shifting her focus toward spiritual transformation, audience participation, and meditative endurance. Her monumental work "The Artist is Present" (2010) at MoMA in New York remains one of the most significant performances of the 21st century, as she sat silently for 736 hours, locking eyes with museum visitors in an act of radical presence and connection.
Curatorial choices
3. Marina Abramović. Retrospective. Installation view Kunsthaus Zürich, 2024. Photo : Franca Candrian, Kunsthaus Zürich, Works © Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives / 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich
The exhibition at Kunsthaus Zürich is structured around key themes that define Abramović’s artistic evolution. Unlike a conventional retrospective, this exhibition seeks to capture the transient and experiential nature of her practice, raising questions about how to present live performance within the fixed context of a museum. Can an artist whose work is rooted in the ephemeral truly be encapsulated in an institutional setting?
These thematic divisions do not merely serve as chronological categories but interrogate the very nature of performance documentation and re-performance. Can a recorded performance ever truly replace a live moment? Abramović has long insisted that performance art is an art form that must be experienced directly yet this exhibition attempts to bridge the gap between the original and the re-performed, the past and the present.
This dilemma is addressed through a careful selection of works that highlight the different aspects of her career:
The Body as a Medium: Early works where Abramović pushed her physical endurance to its limits. Performances like "Rhythm 0" (1974) and "Rhythm 10" (1973) examine the vulnerability of the body, self-inflicted pain, and the surrender of control to the audience.
Collaboration and Duality: The period of collaboration with Ulay, featuring performances like "Imponderabilia" (1977), restaged for the exhibition, where visitors must pass between two naked performers standing in a doorway, challenging personal boundaries and social norms.
Time, Presence, and Meditation: Abramović’s increasing focus on slowness, reflection, and long-durational performance, exemplified by "The Artist is Present" (2010), which redefined endurance-based performance.
Transformation and Ritual: The shift towards spirituality, healing, and ritualistic engagement with the audience, including her "Transitory Objects" that invite viewer interaction and "Decompression Chamber," a newly commissioned work for Kunsthaus Zürich, designed to facilitate self-reflection and altered states of consciousness.
Since Abramović no longer performs many of her historical pieces herself, the exhibition includes live re-performances carried out by trained performers selected through a rigorous process overseen by the Marina Abramović Institute. The challenge of re-performance is central to Abramović’s legacy: how can performances, which are inherently fleeting, be revived without losing their original intensity? The Kunsthaus Zürich exhibition addresses this by ensuring that re-performers undergo intensive training in the "Abramović Method" immersing themselves in the mental and physical discipline required for long-durational works.
By reintroducing these performances within the structured environment of a museum, the exhibition invites viewers to question whether the essence of a performance remains intact when the artist is no longer the one executing it. Is the spirit of a performance tied to its original moment in time, or can it be faithfully transmitted to a new generation?
The Marina Abramović retrospective at Kunsthaus Zürich is not simply a survey of an artist’s career, it is a direct confrontation with the possibilities and limitations of performance art in a museum context. The exhibition raises complex questions: Can performance, an art form rooted in immediacy and physicality, be truly historicized? What is lost in translation when a performance is restaged, and what is gained? Abramović’s work has always been about presence, endurance, and transformation, both for herself and her audience.
By integrating re-performances, interactive installations, and newly commissioned work, the Kunsthaus Zürich exhibition attempts to bridge the ephemeral and the archival, ensuring that Abramović’s radical vision continues to challenge and engage contemporary audiences. In an era where digital documentation threatens to dilute the live experience, this retrospective serves as a powerful reminder of the irreplaceable potency of direct human engagement in art.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Kunsthaus Zürich
Date: 25.10.2024 – 16.02.2025
Curators: Mirjam Varadinis
Ticket: Available on the website of the Kunsthaus Zürich OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Kunsthaus Zürich
Kunsthaus Zürich
Heimplatz
CH-8001 Zürich
Phone: +41 44 253 84 84
Mail: info@kunsthaus.ch