Marina Abramović, one of the most influential performance artists of our time, brings her powerful solo exhibition to Berlin for the first time since the 1990s. Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition at Gropius Bau is a deeply personal exploration of ritual, eroticism, death, and bodily resistance rooted in the folklore of the Balkans.

The exhibition weaves together historical works and new pieces, creating an immersive landscape of filmic and sculptural installations interspersed with live performance. You'll encounter scenes of women in ritual lamentation, a living body entwined with a skeleton, and moments of unexpected humor that reframe our understanding of erotic energy as a vital, communal force. Here, the erotic becomes a means through which boundaries between life and death, individual and collective, dissolve.

Drawing on Balkan traditions, Abramović reimagines eroticism not as taboo but as a binding force—one that communities use to confront death, ensure fertility, and restore balance. The work is provocative, intimate, and undeniably transformative.

Practical Notes: The exhibition is recommended for ages 16 and over due to content depicting self-harm and sexually explicit acts. Book timed-slot tickets online to skip queues. Your entry time doesn't limit your stay—explore at your own pace, or visit the parallel Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes exhibition before or after.

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