Ulay, Pioneering Performance Artist and Abramović Collaborator, Dies at 76

Ulay, born Frank Uwe Laysiepen in Solingen, Germany on November 30, 1943, died at age 76 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where he had lived for over a decade. The news was announced by the Slovenian press and friends on social media. Ulay is best known for his twelve-year artistic and romantic partnership with Marina Abramović from 1976 to 1988, producing iconic performances such as 'Relation in Space' at the 1976 Venice Biennale, 'Imponderabilia' at the Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna in Bologna in 1977, 'Rest Energy' in 1980, and their final piece, 'The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk' in 1988. After their separation, Ulay returned to photography, creating series like 'Berlin Afterimages' (1994-95) and 'Homeless' (1992). He was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and documented his treatment in 'Project Cancer', a film by Damjan Kozole. In his later years, he focused on environmental themes, such as the 'Earth Water Catalogue' project in 2012. His last exhibitions were at Boers Li Gallery in New York in 2018 and Richard Saltoun Gallery in London in 2019. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam announced a retrospective scheduled for November 2020. Abramović paid tribute through the Marina Abramović Institute, calling him 'a magnificent artist and human being.'