Born 1946 Belgrade, Yugoslavia – Lives and works in New York
Fearless and fashionable, her body both subject and medium, Marina Abramovic performs strides towards her manifesto of immateriality. Mother of contemporary performance art, Abramovic has exhibited at the Stedelijk van Abbemuseum (1985), Centre Pompidou (1990), Neue National Galerie (1993), the Venice Biennale (1976 and in 1997 awarded the Golden Lion), and Documenta VI, VII, and IX (1977, 1982 and 1992). In 2010, she had her first retrospective The Artist is Present at the MoMA, New York on which a documentary was made by the same title. The Artist is Present included near fifty works of sound and video, installations, interventions, and performances relived by others, all spanning four decades of performative practice. For the central performance, Abramovic sat at a table for over 700 hours, making focused eye contact with thousands of visitors. The emotional responsiveness of her audience, their engagement with immateriality, and the preparatory training of mental and physical awareness inspired the founding of her Institute (MAI) in 2012. Throughout her practice and teaching career in France and Germany, she developed the Abramovic Method, which was unveiled at PAC and Lia Rumma Gallerie, Milan (2012) and is taught at MAI.
In Abramovic’s widely known early work of mental and physical risk Rhythm 0, she allowed visitors to use food, grooming tools and weapons on her body ending in trauma and near death. Progressing towards immateriality, she has stripped these early performances down to the endurance of spirit and collectivity. In her most recent work 512 Hours, Abramovic was present at the Serpentine Gallery from 10:00-18:00, six days a week for the 3 month exhibition. Herself, the audience and carefully selected props as materials, the reductive experience suggested a profoundly relaxing way of life. Her performances demonstrate a challenging, yet conscientious example of living through which life becomes art.