VADUZ.- Georgia Sagri’s forthcoming exhibition, Case_O. Between Wars, at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, explores the complex interplay of personal and collective struggles amidst global tensions. With a practice deeply rooted in performance, sculpture and social engagement, Sagri navigates the fluidity of conflict, survival and transformation. The exhibition examines how wars – both internal and external – shape identities, societies and histories, inviting audiences to engage with these themes through immersive experiences that connect mind and body.
Case_O. Between Wars continues Sagri’s ongoing Cases series following Case_L at Kunsthalle Friart, Fribourg, Switzerland (2022). In Case_L, Sagri focused on physiological responses to anxiety and panic attacks – recurring themes in her self devised research practice IASI (Greek for ‘recovery’). This series explores wounding and healing, exhaustion and recovery, with Case_O centred on the remnants of conflict, trauma and the potential for regeneration. For over a decade, Sagri has integrated IASI into her exhibitions and performances. Originally conceived as a means to recover from the physical and emotional demands of her durational performances, IASI combines breathing, movement and voice techniques to foster self-care and collective healing.
As Sagri explains, ‘Breath is a site of liberation and constraint. It holds the power to connect us to ourselves and each other, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers’.
In Case_O. Between Wars, the remnants of IASI sessions inform much of the exhibition’s material. From private, confidential explorations of self-recovery to public performances, Sagri continues to challenge societal structures and offers pathways for personal and communal transformation.
Incorporating new works alongside pre-existing ones, the exhibition creates a dialogue between Sagri’s dynamic practice and six works from the Veronika and Peter Monauni collection, on permanent loan at the Kunstmuseum. These pieces, emerging during Germany’s post-war reconstruction in the 1950s, emphasize liberating gestures as a response to trauma – a theme that resonates deeply with Sagri’s exploration of the body’s endurance and recovery.
Central to the exhibition is the sculpture Dynamis | Soma in orgasm as sex (2017), 2023, a work initially conceived for documenta 14, Kassel, Germany, carefully repaired by Sagri after being damaged during public display, re-presented as a new art work in her solo exhibition Oikonomia (The Breeder, Athens, 2023). This aluminium sculpture, depicting united male and female sex organs, serves as both the starting point and anchor for the show. Sagri describes orgasm as the ‘structural methodology’ of the work, an approach that challenges traditional conceptions of the body, sexuality and economy. For Sagri, the body becomes a site of resistance and a medium through which she confronts and transcends societal structures that attempt to define us.
A Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein production curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll and Letizia Ragaglia.
Georgia Sagri (*1979 in Athens, Greece) lives and works between Athens and New York. Her practice encompasses performance, sculpture, sound and installation, often focusing on the body as a site of resistance and transformation. Sagri has exhibited internationally in institutions such as NEON, Athens (2024); Gropius Bau, Berlin (2023); de Appel, Amsterdam (2021); and Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2023), among others. She has participated in major art events, including documenta 14 (2017), Manifesta 11 (Zurich, 2016), and the Whitney Biennial (New York, 2012). Georgia Sagri is represented by The Breeder, Athens.
In addition to her artistic practice, Sagri is the founder of Ύλη [matter] HYLE, a hybrid space in Athens that serves as a laboratory for ideas and experimentation at the intersection of art, performance and political discourse. Through this space, Sagri fosters an environment of collaboration, dialogue and radical creativity. She is the tenured professor of performance at the Athens School of Fine Arts. Her book Stage of Recovery was published by Divided Publishing, (Brussels and London, 2021).
