Abramović has never been defined by a single phase. Rather, her career has unfolded through extremes of endurance. Saatchi Yates has tasked itself with recording this in static form, allowing its audience to reflect at leisure. The collection, tightly shot in hues of red and blue, marks the initiation of this study.
In ‘Red Period’, Abramović appears triumphant, bathed in red; she controls the viewer’s gaze as she wanders the frame — a femme fatale beckoning with a raised finger. Heavy-lidded, she touches her face, pulls at her hair, and gnaws at her fingers. In this phase, red is unbridled emotion, vitality, and seduction.
Her ‘Blue Period’ is one marked by unease. Again, she bites at her fingernails, this time as though intent on unspooling herself; her teeth a specular reflection as her face shifts through phases. Doe-eyed, she oscillates between indifference and savagery. Here, blue evokes melancholia and detachment. The slides, like much of her early work, test the boundaries of masochism.
The original video was conceived as part of her 16-channel Video Portrait Gallery (1975–2002) and first shown at the Kunstmuseum Bern. Spread across the gallery walls as stills, the experience shifts from an unpinnable intention to a moment of reprieve. What emerges is an archive of one of Abramović’s most intimate performances, seen again.
Following Abramović’s 2023–24 Royal Academy show, there has been renewed interest in her work. Through this exhibition, Saatchi Yates has positioned itself at the forefront of interpreting her practice for the next generation. By collaborating with the events company Virus London on an immersive opening night, where Abramović herself was in attendance, the gallery pushed at the boundaries of what art might mean to the next generation. An ambitious declaration that will continue to cement the gallery as a fixture in the arts for Generation Z.
The exhibition runs through October 31, 2025.
For more information visit Saatchi Yates .
~ J.Gataaura
All images courtesy of Art Observed.
Pages: 1 2