The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome presents “Marina Abramović: Historical Works and Transforming Energy,” an exhibition that will open on November 17, 2026. The exhibition stems from an expansion of “Transforming Energy,” which was presented at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice during the 61st International Art Exhibition —the Venice Biennale—and brings together the interactive “Transitory Objects” with a selection of historical works that trace various phases of Marina Abramović’s career.
Curated by Shai Baitel, artistic director of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) in Shanghai, in collaboration with the artist, the Rome exhibition situates “Transforming Energy” within the evolution of Abramović’s artistic practice. To mark the artist’s 80th birthday, GNAMC Director Renata Cristina Mazzantini also requested the inclusion of numerous historical works, giving rise to a specific section, “Historical Works,” curated by Andrea Tarsia.
The section includes works such as *Balkan Baroque* (1997), *The Artist is Present* (2010), and *Imponderabilia* (1977), which serve as an introduction to the central part of the exhibition, dedicated to *Transitory Objects*. These are stone beds, structures, and sculptural forms created by incorporating quartz, amethyst, agate, and other minerals. The public is invited to lie down, sit, or stand on the works, thereby activating what Abramović defines as a process of “energy transmission.”
The Transitory Objects series, developed over more than thirty years, takes the artist’s exploration of the body into a different temporal dimension—that of the geological time of minerals and the Earth. Abramović’s interest in crystals and their relationship to energy and the human body developed after her journey along the Great Wall of China in 1988. During the journey, the artist encountered certain aspects of traditional Chinese medicine that would later influence the development of the Transitory Objects. In the decades that followed, these works became an integral part of her practice, establishing a connection between the human body and materials formed over the course of various geological eras. The exhibition is organized by Creative Philosophy in collaboration with the Marina Abramović Institute and the Modern Art Museum (MAM) in Shanghai. The catalog is published by Skira.
“The Ministry of Culture,” says Alessandro Giuli, Minister of Culture, “is proud to celebrate the 80th birthday of artist Marina Abramović in Italy by hosting the exhibition *Transforming Energy*, first in Venice at the Gallerie dell’Accademia and subsequently in Rome at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea. A pioneer of performance art, Marina Abramović is today an undisputed leading figure in the art world.”
“The exhibition brings Marina Abramović’s work to the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in an expanded and comprehensive form, paying a well-deserved tribute to the artist on the occasion of her 80th birthday,” says Renata Cristina Mazzantini, Director of the GNAMC. “The combination of historical and recent works, the number and richness of the pieces on display, and the exhibition itinerary that spans Abramović’s entire career create an innovative and groundbreaking exhibition in the Roman context. An unmissable journey through the subversive power of performance art, designed to deeply move the capital’s audience.”
“I am very happy to present the new Transitory Objects alongside the historical works that have defined my career,” says Marina Abramović. “These works belong to very different moments in my practice, and bringing them together allows the public to see how the ideas underlying my work have developed over time.”
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| A Major Exhibition of Marina Abramović's Work in Rome: Historic Works and "Transitory Objects" Come to the GNAMC |
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