Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition

Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition at Gropius Bau marks Marina Abramović’s first major solo show in Berlin since the 1990s. The exhibition brings together historical and new works by the performance artist, tracing her ongoing engagement with ritual, eroticism, death and the body as a site of political resistance.

For the opening, in addition to the live performance Nude with Skeleton (2002/2026), two scenes from the Manchester‑premiered stage production Balkan Erotic Epic will be performed in the atrium of Gropius Bau in the evening. The two-part performance activates the works Tito’s Funeral (2025) and Kafana (2025), through which Marina Abramović engages with the historical period of upheaval that followed the death of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito in 1980. The video Tito’s Funeral  intertwines collective memory of the spectacular state funeral of the former president with mourning rituals practiced in various countries across the Balkans to this day. In front of the rhythmic gestures of the monumental choir, the singer and composer Svetlana Spajić performs laments, which recall important political events from Tito’s life and at the same time are inspired by her research on ancient Serbian vocal repertoires .

The installation Kafana, modeled after a type of tavern widely found in the region, becomes an imaginative setting for disparate encounters and atmospheres: Accompanied by a brass band, Jovanka Broz – the grieving widow and former First Lady of Yugoslavia –, meets exuberant guests embodied by opera singer Aleksandar Timotić and dancer-choreographer Blenard Azizaj.