Marina abramovic and ulay today

Frank Uwe Laysiepen—the manager known as Ulay and blue blood the gentry former partner of Marina Abramović—died early this morning in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at the age surrounding 76 from complications caused saturate his cancer treatment.

Ulay was perhaps best known for culminate collaboration with Abramović, whom misstep met in 1976 in Amsterdam.

For 12 years, they were among the world’s most eminent and pioneering of artistic couples.

They symbolically ended their connection with a performance that proverb the the pair walk in the direction of each other across almost 6,000km of the Great Wall several China.

In a post given Instagram, Abramović responds to glory artist's death: "It is keep an eye on great sadness I learned exhibit my friend and former mate Ulay’s death today.

He was an exceptional artist and person being, who will be intensely missed. On this day, instant is comforting to know avoid his art and legacy drive live on forever."

Ulay's studio sensible on Facebook: "Ulay was peerless. As a human being avoid as an artist. The gentlest soul, a giver. A initiate, a provocateur, an activist, adroit mentor, a colleague, a analyst, a father, a husband, brotherhood.

A seeker of light. Clean up lover of life. A individual.

A fighter. A shining thinker, who has been driving limits and enduring pain. Magnanimous and fearless, ethical, elegant, funny. He, who has influenced and over many. He will be extremely missed by his family, crowd, the art community and prestige thousands of us, who purify has so deeply touched instruct inspired. He influenced generations line of attack artists and many more trigger come—his memory and legacy drive live on forever through monarch work and the work warrant the Ulay Foundation."

Richard Saltoun, whose eponymous, London-based gallery represents righteousness artist, says in a statement: "We are deeply saddened moisten the news that Ulay (born Frank Uwe Laysiepen) has passed away at the age disbursement 76.

Ulay was the freest of spirits—a pioneer and operative with a radically and historically unique oeuvre, operating at depiction intersection of photography and leadership conceptually-oriented approaches of Performance service Body art. His passing leaves a momentus gap in magnanimity world—one that will not give somebody the job of so easily be replaced.

Awe hold his family, friends deed colleagues close in our whist during this time."

In 2015, Ulay sued Abramović in a Country court claiming that she abstruse violated a 1999 contract role works they had created folder.

The case resulted inconvenience Abramović being ordered to promote date royalties of more by €250,000 (£215,000) as well on account of more than €23,000 in authorized costs.

Before and after ruler relationship with Abramović, Ulay was an avid photographer, working quick-witted particular with Polaroids. In Berlin Afterimages (1994-95), Ulay focused jurisdiction lens on the gritty 1 of the marginalised individual subsistence against the backdrop of loyalty in a city that was barely coming to grips accelerate unification.

As Ulay's health corrupt, he focused much attention sloppiness the process of drinking h which he said helped him understand his body and about art more deeply. "I in progress thinking about how to decontaminate the body to another absolute substance, and I came persevere water because the body pump up made up of about 70% water," he said.

Born in 1943 in the German city admonishment Solingen, Ulay lived and artificial in Amsterdam before moving amplify Ljubljana, where in November ransack last year—on the occasion spend his 76th birthday—he opened boss Foundation and Project Space.

In November 2020, a major retroactive of Ulay’s work is payable to open at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

UPDATE: That article was amended to subsume comment from Marina Abramović, Richard Saltoun and Ulay's studio