Curated by Andrea Popelka
The exhibition Stable Performance deals with the multiple meanings of the term “performance,” which is used in various fields – from art to labor to financial capital. In the economic sense, performance denotes the efficiency and profitability of, for example, a company, a stock, or an individual worker. How does this economic meaning relate to that which is common in the arts? And how do both influence our private lives and our self-understanding? Authors like Marina Vishmidt, quoted here, have argued that performance art historically anticipated newer forms of labor by “forecasting a shift towards (self-)‘performance’ as a measure of valuation for all work.”
In this context, Lisa Großkopf examines the contemporary subject that submits to an endless optimization process in the pursuit of better performance – for instance, in the realm of beauty. She connects this to the economic figure of the artist, represented here by Marina Abramović, whose name and isolated, ethereal martyrdom take on significance in understanding a larger phenomenon. Großkopf is interested in self-inflicted pain – whether in semi-violent facial treatments or in Abramović’s physical border experiences – and how such practices relate to work and its potential infinity. How much can be extracted from a body?, these practices seem to ask. Why do we even attempt to squeeze bodies in this way? – that is Großkopf’s counter-question.
Exhibition duration: February 28 - May 10, 2026