Marina Abramović, now 79, refers to herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” In a career of over five decades she has faced down some of life’s toughest subjects. In one of her early performances, to confront her fear of blood, she cut herself. In 1974, she staged Rhythm 0, an arduous act that saw her standing motionless in a gallery for six hours. This Shanghai exhibition features photographs from Abramović’s 1988 walk along the Great Wall of China. It also sees her exploring the healing properties of crystals. Over 6,600 pounds of minerals—raw hunks and smoothly carved shapes—are part of the sculpture series “Transitory Objects.” To mark Abramović’s upcoming 80th birthday, the Gallerie dell’Accademia is doing something unprecedented in its history: presenting its first solo exhibition devoted to a living artist. —Elena Clavarino