Marina Abramović will revisit her early works for a new solo exhibition with Saatchi Yates in London. The show introduces new prints based on parts of her video installation Video Portrait Gallery (1975-2002). In particular, stills from two performance videos from the 16-channel video work will be turned into print series entitled Blue Period and Red Period. Each frame from the series will be available for individual acquisition. The show opens today at the gallery’s St. James space and will run until October 31st.
The titles of Abramović’s two series reference Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period, which lasted from 1901 to 1904, and Henri Matisse’s Red Period, referencing several paintings the artist made in 1911. Here, Abramović similarly tests the potential of color: one series is tinted blue, the other red, with very different effects. In these works capturing single moments, the Serbian artist emphasizes individual gestures and moods from her two videos.
The video that inspires “Blue Period” shows the artist in close-up, lit in blue while a pop song loops in the background. The imagery centers on the act of nail-biting, with Abramovic alternating between detached and anguished expressions. The performance highlights the tension of repetition, with the color blue evoking coldness and melancholy. Meanwhile, the one that inspires “Red Period” shows Abramović under a monochrome red filter. Across the sequence, her expressions range from playful to confrontational, with her gestures moving from intensely focused or joyful to panicked. The use of red evokes vitality and energy as well as femininity and seduction, drawing associations with sex work.
Video Portrait Gallery (1975–2002) was first realized at the Kunstmuseen Bern and later presented at the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania in 2015. The installation was most recently exhibited at MUDAM in Luxembourg in 2023. Other famous performance videos featured in the original project include Freeing the Voice (1975) and The Onion (1996).
Last week, Abramović was announced to be the first living woman artist to receive a solo show at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, titled “Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy. That exhibition will open on May 6, 2026. The 78-year-old artist also became the first living woman artist to stage a solo show at the Royal Academy of Arts in September 2023, which she discussed earlier this year on the Artsy Podcast.
