Marina Abramović has always tested the boundaries of her own physical and mental endurance – and invited the public to share those experiences with her. In her later work, she focuses on the elevation of the human spirit, meditation and healing. For her, every work is a new experience of herself, both mentally and emotionally. In it, she challenges herself, and us as visitors. This was evident in her famed performance ‘The Artist Is Present’ (2010) at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Eight hours a day for three months, the artist sat at a table and invited audience members to sit opposite her. All physical and verbal contact was forbidden, and a connection was established solely via the gaze and the eyes. It was a cathartic experience. As Abramovic herself puts it: ‘I’m a performance artist. I want to make something the public can interact with, can feel, can have a personal experience with their own kind of energy.’

Marina Abramović’s first retrospective in Switzerland is being developed in close collaboration with the artist. The exhibition is a cooperation with the Royal Academy in London, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Kunstforum Wien.