Lot Essay
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by both artists.
Since the early 1970s, when she attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Marina Abramovic has pioneered the use of performance as a visual art form. As a vital member of the first generation of performance artists, Abramovic created some of the most historic early performance pieces and continues to make important durational works. De Appel was amongst the first institutes to show her work. She has participated in international exhibitions as the Venice Biennial (1976 and 1997) and Documenta VI, VII and IX, Kassel (1977, 1982 and 1992). In 1998, the exhibition Artist Body - Public Body toured extensively, including stops at the Kunstmuseum and Grosse Halle, Bern and La Gallera, Valencia. In 2004, Abramovic exhibited at the Whitney Biennial in New York and had a significant solo show, The Star, at the Maruame Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kumamoto Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan. She was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennial and in 2003 received the Bessie for The House with the Ocean View. In 2006, her series of performances called Seven Easy Pieces was honored by the Guggenheim at their International Gala and by the AICA USA with the Best Exhibition of Time Based Art award in 2007. Abramovic's work is included in numerous public and private collections worldwide.
Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen) has been involved in photography projects, performances and video installation since his pioneering years in the seventies. From 1976 to 1988, the artist undertook a rigorous artistic collaboration with Marina Abramovic, during which they produced works in performance, video and life-size Polaroid photography. They were seminal participants in the European body art/performance movement. Ulay's oeuvre also includes documents of private performances, a large collection of travel photographs, and, intriguing photographic experiments with photograms and 'photogenes' (physiological afterimages made visible). His more recent project WATERTOALL focuses on the Arab world and its water shortage in comparison with the sinking Netherlands. Collaborative works have been widely exhibited internationally, at festivals and institutions including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Venice Biennial; Paris Biennial; Documentas 6 and 7, Kassel; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; The Tate Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; and The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Public and private collections with his work include: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; Kunstmuseum Bern; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Caldic Collection, Rotterdam. Ulay has performed and exhibited his work in de Appel several times.
Since the early 1970s, when she attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Marina Abramovic has pioneered the use of performance as a visual art form. As a vital member of the first generation of performance artists, Abramovic created some of the most historic early performance pieces and continues to make important durational works. De Appel was amongst the first institutes to show her work. She has participated in international exhibitions as the Venice Biennial (1976 and 1997) and Documenta VI, VII and IX, Kassel (1977, 1982 and 1992). In 1998, the exhibition Artist Body - Public Body toured extensively, including stops at the Kunstmuseum and Grosse Halle, Bern and La Gallera, Valencia. In 2004, Abramovic exhibited at the Whitney Biennial in New York and had a significant solo show, The Star, at the Maruame Museum of Contemporary Art and the Kumamoto Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan. She was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennial and in 2003 received the Bessie for The House with the Ocean View. In 2006, her series of performances called Seven Easy Pieces was honored by the Guggenheim at their International Gala and by the AICA USA with the Best Exhibition of Time Based Art award in 2007. Abramovic's work is included in numerous public and private collections worldwide.
Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen) has been involved in photography projects, performances and video installation since his pioneering years in the seventies. From 1976 to 1988, the artist undertook a rigorous artistic collaboration with Marina Abramovic, during which they produced works in performance, video and life-size Polaroid photography. They were seminal participants in the European body art/performance movement. Ulay's oeuvre also includes documents of private performances, a large collection of travel photographs, and, intriguing photographic experiments with photograms and 'photogenes' (physiological afterimages made visible). His more recent project WATERTOALL focuses on the Arab world and its water shortage in comparison with the sinking Netherlands. Collaborative works have been widely exhibited internationally, at festivals and institutions including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Venice Biennial; Paris Biennial; Documentas 6 and 7, Kassel; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; The Tate Gallery, London; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; and The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Public and private collections with his work include: Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; Kunstmuseum Bern; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Caldic Collection, Rotterdam. Ulay has performed and exhibited his work in de Appel several times.