Nude live performance at Marina Abramović exhibition at Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam

A major exhibition about the oeuvre of the Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović opens at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam on Saturday. In addition to photos, videos and sculptures, there are also four live performances on display. However, these will not be performed by the 77-year-old artist herself, but by performers trained by Abramović. The performances have never been performed in the Netherlands before.

This concerns the performances Art Must Be Beautiful... Artist Must Be Beautiful (1975), Imponderabilia (1977), Luminosity (1997) and The House with the Ocean View (2002). The latter is one of her best-known works: A performer stays for twelve days in three residential units that are attached to the wall next to each other at a height of approximately 2 meters. The artist does not eat or talk during that time and cannot descend the stairs of the units because the steps are made of knives. This performance can be seen at the Stedelijk from June 5 to 16.

In Imponderabilia, two performers stand naked on either side of a doorway. Visitors have to squeeze through to get to the other room. In Luminosity, the performer sits naked on a bicycle saddle mounted high on the wall, with arms and legs spread. The performances are not scheduled at fixed times but can be seen throughout the exhibition. The exhibition lasts until Sunday, July 14.

Marina Abramović has been one of the best-known performance artists since the 1970s and is considered one of the most important founders of this art form. Through her, the experimental art form entered the mainstream and gained increasing attention in the art world. Abramović constantly tests her mental and physical endurance by using her body as a medium, according to the Stedelijk Museum.

She lived in the capital from 1976 to 2002. As a performance artist, she often tested her own physical and mental endurance, for example, by not eating or talking for hours. The audience also often plays a role in her performances. A total of 60 works by the artist are on display.

The solo exhibition is organized by the Royal Academy of Arts in London. After the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, the exhibition can be seen in Kunsthaus Zürich, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Kunstforum Vienna.