ART VITAL Exhibition – 12 Years of the Ulay / Marina Abramović Duo Opens at Cukrarna
On Sunday, 30 November, Cukrarna opens the long-awaited exhibition dedicated to the shared life and work of internationally recognised and influential artists Ulay and Marina Abramović. The exhibition will be on view until 3 May 2026.
One of Cukrarna’s most anticipated exhibitions, ART VITAL – 12 Years of the Ulay / Marina Abramović Duo, offers for the first time a comprehensive and multifaceted insight into the artistic journey and private life of Ulay and Marina Abramović between 1976 and 1988. Curated by Alenka Gregorič and Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, and created in collaboration with the Ulay Foundation (Lena Pislak) and the Marina Abramović Archive (Sidney Fishman), the exhibition brings together archival materials, iconic works and rarely seen documents from the personal and professional histories of both artists.
Press conference ahead of the opening of Art Vital, attended by twenty international media outlets.
The exhibition ART VITAL – 12 Years of the Ulay / Marina Abramović Duo at Cukrarna will be on display from 30 November 2025 to 3 May 2026 and presents the most extensive overview to date of their twelve-year collaboration – from their first performance, Relation in Space (1976), presented at the Venice Biennale, to their symbolic farewell, The Great Wall Walk (1988). Ulay and Marina Abramović played a pivotal role in shaping performance art as a contemporary artistic practice and left an invaluable mark on 20th-century art history. Their nomadic nature and deep connection with the world around them were the driving forces of their artistic dedication.
For the first time, the exhibition offers a layered view into the unique and unwavering creative path and shared private life of the Ulay–Abramović artistic partnership between 1976 and 1988. Instead of a strictly chronological approach, it is structured into thematic sections that highlight their nomadic lifestyle and reveal their personal archaeology.
The exhibition feature well-known works such as Imponderabilia (1977), Relation in Movement (1977) and Rest Energy (1980), as well as lesser-known pieces including Charged Space (1978), Three (1978), The Brink (1979), Communist Body/Fascist Body (1979), Nature of Mind (1980), Terminal Garden (1986), Bone Curtain (1985), The Sun and the Moon (1987), photographs and artworks from the Nightsea Crossing series (1981–1986), and many others. Alongside already canonised performances – presented through video documentation, photographs and memorabilia – the exhibition places special emphasis on rich archival material: the Citroën van that served as their home for five years, photographs, letters, postcards, personal notes, audio recordings, institutional correspondence and diaries, many of which are being presented to the public for the first time.
An important part of the exhibition, on view at Cukrarna until 3 May 2026, will be re-performances. Pictured: artists Katarina Stegnar and Primož Bezjak.
A series of events will accompany the exhibition, including reconstructions of the performances Work Relation (1978) and Similar Illusion (1981), as well as one-time stagings of the iconic performances Light/Dark (1977), Breathing In/Breathing Out (1977) and AAA-AAA (1978). Two publications will be released on the opening day. The photobook Love. Hate. Forgiveness includes photographs from the artists’ twelve years together and offers insight into the turbulent period following their separation, along with a conversation between Marina Abramović and Lena Pislak.
More information about the exhibition and ticket reservations can be found on the Cukrarna website.
You are also invited to read the feature story we prepared on Slovenia.info during the exhibition’s development.
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