Portraits in the Presence of Marina Abramovic

In addition to the originally published 1545 portraits, this special edition includes never before seen archival photographs of the behind-the-scene moments of the artist in preparation for the performance. These photographs reveal the intimate process of the artist during the making of the most ambitious work of her career. Alongside her retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Marina Abramovic staged a performance of three months in the central atrium. Inside a delineated space, visitors from the public were invited to sit in a chair opposite to her and exchange eye contact. The sitters were frequent museum visitors, as well as renowned artists, actors and musicians, including Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Bjoerk, Sharon Stone, James Franco, and others. To realise this project, Anelli had also spent over 716 hours in the museum, meticulously making portraits of Abramovic, each individual sitting across from her, and noting the duration of each exchange. These photographs function as the primary representation of this seminal work of performance in the 21st century, and chronicle an unforgettable moment in the history of art.