Frank Uwe Laysiepen, professionally known as Ulay, is a multifaceted German artist who has made a significant impact in the art world. Born in 1943, Ulay has spent most of his career based in Amsterdam, Holland, and Ljubljana, Slovenia. His artistic journey began in the late 1960s, when he gained international recognition as a photographer, primarily working with Polaroid. Over the years, his creative endeavors have expanded to include performance art, with a notable collaboration with Marina Abramovic from 1976 to 1988.
Throughout his career, Ulay's work has consistently explored themes of politics, identity, and gender. In 2016, the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, hosted a major retrospective exhibition titled 'Ulay Life-Sized', showcasing his remarkable body of work. In recent years, his art has been featured in various exhibitions at esteemed institutions such as the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam and the GNYP Gallery in Berlin.
Ulay's artistic output, as well as his collaborative work with Marina Abramovic, is proudly represented in numerous collections of major art institutions worldwide. Some of these institutions include the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
