Exhibition Art Vital at the Cukrarna Gallery: 12 years of the Ulay / Marina Abramović tandem
The Cukrarna Gallery in Ljubljana presents an exhibition with global resonance – a review of 12 years of joint creative work by Ulay and Marina Abramović.
Ljubljana as a venue for artistic excellence
In recent years, Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, has increasingly distinguished itself as a city that goes beyond its role as a host and takes on an active role as a producer of world-class projects. Exhibition ART VITAL – 12 Years of the Ulay / Marina Abramović tandem, which will be on display in the Cukrarna Gallery between 30 November 2025 and 3 May 2026, represents one of the most important exhibition events of the last decade in the region.
It is not merely a presentation of two key figures in performance art on the global stage, but a comprehensive exploration that opens up a discussion about the role of art in the intertwining of the personal and the universal, the intimate and the social. In this story, we share more about the upcoming exhibition by two exceptional artists, the venue, and the city that will host it.
Behind the scenes of preparations for the Art Vital exhibition: Marina Abramović's working visit to Cukrarna. Foto: Blaž Gutman/MGML
Exhibition Art Vital: An Intimate and Archival Insight into the Pioneers of Performance Art
The exhibition offers for the first time a multilayered insight into into the shared journey of Ulay and Marina Abramović, who between 1976 and 1988 created a body of work that left an indelible mark on 20th-century art. Alongside their canonical works, the exhibition will also feature rarely seen works and rich private and archival material: letters, diaries, notes, sketches, sound recordings, music lists and documents that are only now opening up new readings and interpretations.
The exhibition thus goes beyond a mere retrospective and becomes a space for critical reflection on the artistic process, which was inextricably linked to the lifestyle and nomadic ethos of both artists. The exhibition Art Vital, created in collaboration with the Ulay Foundation and Lena Pislak, the Marina Abramović Archive and Sydney Fishman, is certainly one of the most notable productions of the Cukrarna Gallery team. It is curated by the Cukrarna Gallery's artistic director Alenka Gregorič and Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, professor at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts.
ART VITAL means to have courage. Take risks. To have a very nomadic way of life and to take your entire planet as a studio.
Marina Abramović
Photos from Marina Abramović's working visit to Cukrarna: Blaž Gutman / MGML
In 2021, Ljubljana, and with it Slovenia, gained a new central venue for contemporary art. The building by the Ljubljanica River, a short walk from the strict city centre, amazes with its (award-winning) architecture and spaciousness, as well as its history, as it is a former sugar factory and the hub of numerous stories and programmes.
Today, the Cukrarna Gallery is a space that is intended not only for the presentation, but also for the production of works of art and the articulation of artistic and critical thought. It is a popular meeting place and venue for numerous events and festivals, a space that raises questions not only in an aesthetic context, but also in a broader social and political context.
The spatial characteristics of the Cukrarna Gallery allow the exhibition to come to life in its full dimension and offer visitors an intense and comprehensive experience.
Alenka Gregorič and Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, curators of the exhibition Art Vital
“The architectural design of the Cukrarna building/Gallery itself did not directly influence the curatorial decisions in preparing the exhibition, but it undoubtedly guided the reflection on how and within which content clusters to shape the individual segments of their artistic oeuvre,” the curators describe. “The exhibition focuses on a content-complex and diverse interpretation of the artists' twelve-year collaborative creative period, paying special attention to an in-depth insight into key projects, artistic processes and the context of the creation of individual works.”
Ulay and Marina
Ulay(Frank Uwe Laysiepen, 1943–2020) was a German artist considered one of the key representatives of contemporary performance art. He focused on the body as an artistic medium, on questions of identity, intimacy, closeness and distance, as well as on interpersonal relationships. He also worked with photography and video, spent part of his life in Ljubljana and left a significant impact on the Slovenian art scene. He died in Ljubljana in 2020.
Marina Abramović (born in 1946 in Belgrade) is a world-renowned Serbian artist and is considered one of the most influential figures in performance art. Since the 1970s, she has been exploring the limits of the body, pain, time and the relationship between the artist and the audience. Together with Ulay, she created a series of groundbreaking performances, and after their artistic and personal breakup, she became famous for her solo works – including the famous performance "The Artist Is Present" (MoMA, 2010) – and numerous exhibitions in influential galleries.
During their 12 years of collaboration, Ulay and Marina created a number of radical performances, perhaps one of their most notable being "The Lovers" from 1988, when they each set off from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China, met in the middle, and parted ways – both as an artistic tandem and as a couple.
From van to diaries, from photographs to video projections
For five months – incidentally, the exhibition opens on the shared birthday of the two artists – the Cukrarna Gallery will become home to legendary works such as Imponderabilia (1977), Relation in Movement (1977) and Rest Energy (1980), as well as less frequently exhibited works such as Charged Space (1978), Three(1978), The Brink (1979), Communist Body / Fascist Body (1979), Nature of Mind (1980), Modus Vivendi (1983), Terminal Garden (1986) and many others.
Did you know? The van that was the artistic couple's home for five years will also arrive in Ljubljana.
Their iconic performances will be presented through video documentation and the dynamics of the exhibition will be complemented by photographic series and personal memorabilia from the rich archives of both artists: photographs, letters, notes and diaries, correspondence with institutions, and similar, much of which will be presented to the public for the first time.
Ljubljana is a city where a thousand years of history, iconic architecture and vibrant contemporary charmingly intertwine. Old Ljubljana, nestled with its picturesque streets between Castle Hill and the Ljubljanica River, invites you to explore antique shops, art galleries, cafes, restaurants and boutique hotels. Cross the bridges and the path will lead you towards the green oasis – Tivoli Park with Rožnik Hill.
Along the way, you will find exceptional museums and galleries, theatres, creativity centres and concert venues. Street art and contemporary architecture intertwine with relics of the past, while traditional cuisine is combined with modern bistro gastronomy, wine bars with craft beer bars and top-notch restaurants with a popular culinary open-air market.
A planned visit to the exhibition Art Vital could be just the final lure that persuades you to spend a few days in Ljubljana during one of the calmer months between autumn and spring. A weekend getaway tailored to culture and art lovers can easily be combined with a trip in any direction – towards the sea to the fairy-tale town of Piran, towards the mountains to the picturesque historic towns of Kamnik, Kranj or Radovljica, towards the east to the mighty castles of Celje, Ptuj or Posavje, and the banks of the Drava River, where the unique cultural experiences of Maribor await you.
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