Marina Abramović and Ulay: a radical love story in ART VITAL exhibition

This autumn, Cukrarna Gallery in Ljubljana will unveil ART VITAL—12 Years of Ulay/Marina Abramović, a groundbreaking exhibition tracing the transformative collaboration between Marina Abramović and Ulay from 1976 to 1988. Opening on November 30th, 2025, the artists’ shared birthday, the show offers the most in-depth exploration to date of their creative and emotional partnership—one that defined a generation of performance art.

Unlike a conventional retrospective, this Ulay and Marina Abramović exhibition is structured conceptually rather than chronologically. Curated by Alenka Gregorič and Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein, ART VITAL explores the couple’s nomadic existence, their deep personal mythology, and the transcultural themes that shaped their work. Archival letters, sound recordings, personal notes, and never-before-seen relics sit beside video documentation of now-iconic pieces.

Defining Ulay and Marina Abramović performances works

Among the highlights are seminal performances such as Imponderabilia (1977), where the duo stood naked in a doorway forcing viewers to pass between them, and Rest Energy (1980), a four-minute piece balancing tension, risk, and trust, as Ulay held a drawn bow pointed at Abramović’s heart. Also featured are more intimate, lesser-known pieces like Charged Space and The Sun and the Moon, alongside their legendary Nightsea Crossing series. Visitors will even encounter the couple’s Citroën van—home to their peripatetic life.

The show reflects not just an artistic alliance, but the complex emotional terrain of the Marina Abramović and Ulay love story. A new book, Love. Hate. Forgiveness., published to coincide with the exhibition, reveals the duo’s private moments and post-breakup reflections.

Supported by major international institutions and the Marina Abramović Archive, ART VITAL positions their 12-year journey as a vital chapter in the story of 20th-century art. This is not just an homage to Marina Abramović and Ulay—it’s a living, breathing space where art becomes life, and life becomes art.

To conclude this journey through the radical world of Marina Abramović and Ulay, we invite you to delve even deeper. In our conversation, Marina Abramović and Michèle Lamy come together for a bold exchange on sacrifice, courage, and the body as a site of transformation. This rare conversation between two uncompromising forces is raw, fearless, and profoundly human—an exploration of what it truly means to live and create without boundaries.