Marina Abramović has become the first living woman to be honored with a dedicated exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, titled “Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy.” The show, which coincides with her 80th birthday, features works selected in dialogue with Renaissance masterpieces from the museum’s permanent collection, including pieces such as “The Lovers, Great Wall Walk,” “Balkan Baroque,” and “Pietà (Anima Mundi).” Abramović first visited the Venice Biennale at age 14 and later won the Golden Lion there in 1997; this exhibition marks a full-circle return to the city that inspired her.
The exhibition matters because it breaks a historic barrier at one of Italy’s most prestigious museums, highlighting Abramović’s enduring influence as the “grandmother of performance art.” By juxtaposing her body-based practice with Venetian Renaissance painting, the show recontextualizes both traditions, emphasizing the body as a vessel for meaning across centuries. It also underscores the growing institutional recognition of living women artists in major European cultural venues.