ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Marina Abramović's Violent Tools on Display at Palazzo Strozzi

exhibition · 2026-05-04

This article explores the intersection of art and violence through Marina Abramović's retrospective at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence. It posits that the manifestation of violence in art is contingent upon the use of various tools, a concept highlighted by Hannah Arendt. Over her nearly 50-year career, Abramović has incorporated items like razors, knives, and chains, which are now presented as fetishistic artifacts. Philosopher Félix Duque characterizes her work as a blend of "peasant saga and experimentation with pain limits." A significant highlight is her 1974 performance at Studio Morra, where she faced a loaded gun. The piece also addresses the artist's role as a captive and the audience's challenge to engage, drawing on Hegel's master-slave dialectic. It wraps up with a Holocaust survivor's analogy between Auschwitz Museum and modern art. The editorial is authored by Marcello Faletra and appears in Artribune Magazine #46.

Key facts

  • Marina Abramović's retrospective at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence displays tools used in her performances: razors, knives, chains, nails, whips, guns, scissors, saws, axes, ice, fire, sulfur, needles.
  • Félix Duque describes Abramović's extreme performances as between 'peasant saga and experimentation with pain limits'.
  • In a 1974 performance at Studio Morra, Abramović said 'Do with me what you want' and a spectator pointed a loaded gun at her, stopped by the gallerist.
  • Abramović's 'Manifesto of the Life of an Artist' states: 'the artist should die consciously, without fear'.
  • The article draws on Hegel's master-slave dialectic, positioning Abramović as master due to her lack of fear of death.
  • A Holocaust survivor felt that visiting Auschwitz Museum felt like being in a contemporary art museum.
  • The article is an editorial by Marcello Faletra published in Artribune Magazine #46.
  • The exhibition is at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence.

Entities

Artists

  • Marina Abramović
  • Marcello Faletra

Institutions

  • Palazzo Strozzi
  • Studio Morra
  • Artribune Magazine

Locations

  • Florence
  • Italy
  • Auschwitz

Sources