©Marco Anelli, 2025

Transforming Energy

6 May 2026-18 October 2026

⚠️PERFORMANCE IMPONDERABILIA | 6 AND 7 MAY 2026 | UPDATE

Internationally renowned artist Marina Abramović will make history in 2026 as the first living female artist to be honored with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice. Transforming Energy, presented on the occasion of the 61st Venice Biennale, will be open from May 6, 2026, and remain on view until October 18, 2026.

The exhibition marks the artist’s 80th birthday and establishes a profound dialogue between her pioneering performance art and the Renaissance masterpieces that have shaped Venice’s cultural identity. Curated by Shai Baitel, Artistic Director of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Shanghai, in close collaboration with the artist, the exhibition unfolds both in the permanent collection galleries and in the temporary exhibition spaces—an absolute first in the institution’s history—placing Abramović’s work at the very heart of Venetian heritage.

©Matteo De Fina

At the heart of Transforming Energy lies the encounter between past and present, the material and the immaterial, body and spirit. Visitors are invited to experience a series of interactive “Transitory Objects”—beds and stone structures embedded with crystals—by lying down, sitting, or standing on them, activating what Marina Abramović defines as a “transmission of energy.”

Iconic works such as Imponderabilia (1977), Rhythm 0 (1974), Light/Dark (1977), Balkan Baroque (1997), and Carrying the Skeleton (2008) are presented alongside projections of historical performances, while new creations produced for the occasion highlight her long-standing exploration of endurance, vulnerability, and transformation.

©Matteo De Fina

One of the exhibition’s highlights is the presentation of Pietà (with Ulay) (1983), placed in direct dialogue with Pietà (ca. 1575–76) by Titian, the artist’s final unfinished masterpiece, later completed by Palma il Giovane. This historic juxtaposition, marking 450 years since Titian’s Pietà, reinterprets Renaissance archetypes of suffering, transcendence, and redemption through a contemporary lens, underscoring the enduring role of the human body as a site of both pain and spiritual elevation.

©Matteo De Fina

In Venice—a city that for centuries has stood as a crossroads of cultures, trade, and precious materials—Marina Abramović’s use of quartz, amethyst, and other natural elements echoes the history of Venetian mosaics and the Renaissance pursuit of transformation, both material and metaphysical. By placing the visitor’s body at the center of the work, the exhibition invites a form of “prolonged” observation—less passive and more oriented toward presence, participation, and the possibility of inner change.

 PERFORMANCE IMPONDERABILIA

On the occasion of the opening days, on may 6 at 11:00 am and 5:00 am and on May 7 at 11:00 am, the public will have the opportunity to experience the re-performance of the historic piece Imponderabilia by Marina Abramović.

Originally created in 1977, the action invites visitors to engage directly and consciously with their own bodies and those of others, passing through a liminal space that challenges perception, relationship, and presence. This re-performance aims to reactivate the power of this iconic gesture, offering a contemporary reflection on the relationship between energy, vulnerability, and human interaction.

Please note that the performance includes full nudity, which may be sensitive or unsettling for some visitors.

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Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia

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