Marina Abramović will be honored with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice during the 61st Venice Biennale Arte in 2026, making her the first living woman artist to receive such a show at this historic institution. The exhibition coincides with her eightieth birthday and features works including the 1983 photograph *Pietà (with Ulay)*, placed in dialogue with Titian’s *Pietà*, alongside participatory elements like her Transitory Objects. Curated by Shai Baitel, the show unfolds within the museum’s Renaissance galleries rather than a separate wing.
The exhibition matters because it marks a long-overdue institutional recognition of Abramović’s five-decade career, which has often challenged conventional art frameworks. It continues her record of firsts—she was the first woman to have a solo show at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (2023) and the first woman to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale (1997)—while highlighting how slowly major institutions have embraced performance and body-based art. The juxtaposition of Abramović’s work with Titian’s Renaissance masterpiece underscores enduring themes of grief, the body, and transcendence, bridging centuries of artistic practice.