Marina Abramović Swaps Performance for Plonk in Bonhams Charity Wine Auction

Marina Abramović b. 1946, Serbia Follow +

Marina Abramović has become the latest artist to turn her hand to wine branding by creating a range of labels, and one conceptual candle, in collaboration with the Tuscan winemaker Ornellaia. 

The bottles will head to auction online at Bonhams next month, with estimates of between £1,700 and £35,000. All proceeds will go to support the work of the Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation. 

Abramović joins a growing list of contemporary artists who have collaborated with Ornellaia throughout the luxury winemaker’s 20-year history, including Joseph Kosuth, William Kentridge and Rebecca Horn. 

In a statement, the Serbian conceptual performance artist described how she began her project by focusing on the raw material: grapes. “I surrounded my face with bunches and, suddenly, the bright green of the leaves and the deep black of the berries began to vibrate,” she said.

Abramović’s creations will open for bidding on 11 June, with all lots including large-format bottles of La Vitalità (vitality) Vendemmia d’Artist, a 2023 vintage. Some will also include other vintages, bottles signed by the artist and wine tasting experiences. 

The priciest Abramović-branded tipple, which comes with dinner and overnight stay, is a unique nine-litre salmanazar, which is estimated to sell for between £17,000 and £35,000. At the top of the bottle, a cone-shaped red wax candle, inspired by one of the artist’s iconic works, Energy Hat, can be lit by the lucky buyer. 

The bottle is offered alongside a miniature, 45-rpm vinyl record by Nino Rota. The label provides helpful instructions: “Slowly drink wine with eyes closed and listen to the music.”

This boozy foray is not the first time that Abramović has expanded her brand beyond the gallery.  In 2024 she launched The Marina Abramović Longevity Method, a lifestyle and wellness brand that sells products with such elusive names as “Immunity” and “Energy”. 

In announcing this latest collaboration, Bonhams said in a statement that Abramović’s bottle designs have “remained true to her practice, which is intrinsically linked to the limits of the human body”—something nine litres of wine would surely test.