Marina Abramović’s exhibition Memory of Being is an important event not only in Kaunas, Lithuania but in Europe as well. One of the curators of the exhibition Waclaw Kuczma (Poland) states that Marina Abramović’s art is so impactful because of the vision of the world and fatal forebodings of the future hidden inside of it. The immersion in the artist’s work becomes a dramatic, magical challenge. Curator Arvydas Žalpys notices historic correlations – the worldview of the people of our region is familiar with this artist’s work. From the times of the Soviet Iron Curtain, Lithuanian artists and people of culture tried to find information about Marina Abramović’s work in many different ways – it symbolised a brave pursuit of liberty, surpassing fear and established clichés, as well as an unconstrained expression of the artist’s identity by freeing from the well-known shackles of the Soviet system. This is why this meeting of the audience and the author is very important.
Performance is like a mark in a certain time and space, where the artist meets with the audience and they become each other’s mirror. The retrospective of Marina Abramović’s performances allows to see not only the development of the artist’s work but also the viewer’s inner dynamic, to feel the perspective of time and identify ourselves in the present time. In 2022, when Kaunas will be the European Capital of Culture, Marina Abramović’s exhibition Memory of Being will become a strong and transformative centre of attraction for the local public and the city guests.
Partners of the exhibition:
Kaunas 2022
Marina Abramovic Institute
Moderna Museet, Stockholm
