Guy Ullens, preeminent collector of Chinese contemporary art, dies at 89

Guy Ullens, a prominent Belgian collector renowned for his extensive collection of contemporary Chinese art, has passed away. He was born in 1935 in San Francisco to an aristocratic Belgian lineage and amassed wealth through food enterprises and private equity, notably acquiring Weight Watchers International in 1999. Initially focused on Chinese antiquities, including scroll paintings from various dynasties, he shifted his interest to contemporary art in the 1990s, acquiring pieces from artists like Ai Weiwei and Zeng Fanzhi. In 2007, he and his wife Myriam established the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing, a pioneering private museum in China. Following the sale of UCCA in 2017, they opened UCCA Dune in Beidaihe in 2018 and a Shanghai location in 2021. In 2023, during an inheritance dispute, Guy's son Nicolas allegedly shot both parents, resulting in Myriam's death and Guy's injuries. Nicolas is set to face trial in 2026.