A Universal art collection

The Ullens collection is characterized by its universality. A citizen of the world, Guy Ullens has been collecting art since 1960, devoting his passion to all the cultures he crossed. Fascinated by the most contemporary forms of art, Guy Ullens also collected antiquities, as he always thought one ca not understand the present time without knowing history. Today the Ullens collection counts with hundreds of major works, coming from Asia, the USA, Europe and Africa, and covering a large timeline, from Antic period until today’s digital era. China, where Guy Ullens has been working since 1984, is naturally the most represented country in the collection. However, it counts also with a large body of American contemporary art – part is the largest Sterling Ruby collection -; a remarkable series of Indian contemporary art with Kapoor, Bharthi Kher, Jistish Kallat…; some blue ship European artists such as Pistoletto, Picasso, Fontana, Hockney…; and African and Middle East great figures (Tayou, Hassan Sharif…). “Melange is the spirit”, Poet Paul Valery said.

See below some iconic works from the collection.

Aaron Curry

photo - Photo by Arthur Péquin
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Mr Machine Gun Bodymind - 2013

Painted aluminium
369,6x168x124 cm
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Weird Dude Concept - 2013

Painted aluminium
201,1 x 269,2 x 128,9cm
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Anish Kapoor

photo - Photo: Jack Hems; courtesy of Lisson Gallery
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Monochrome (Lake Violet Pearl)

Fiberglass & paint
188x188x40 cm
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Bharti Kher

photo - Creator: Lexie Moreland/WWD
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The Internal Workings of my Mind when the Body is Sleeping - 2012

3 panels of 249 x 188 cm each
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The Left-over DNA of a Little Mouse that the Cat Ate - 2009

183 x 244 cm
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Fen Mengbo

photo - chinesenewart
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Long March: Restart - 2008

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Hong hao

My things No.3 - Edition 12/12 - 2001 —2002

122 x 210 cm
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Qingming Festival No.3- Edition 15/15 - 2000

35 x 641.5 cm
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Huang Yong Ping

photo - Jean-Christophe MARMARA
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Golden Head - 2004

Wood, gold leaf and metal
570 x 360 x 360 cm
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One man, nine animals - 1999

Plaster, silver leaf
9 animals; each max 250 x 150 x 250 cm
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Jitish Kallat

photo - Jitish Kallat in his studio. Photo courtesy Nature Morte Gallery, New Delhi
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Prosody of a Rising Tide - 2011 —2012

Oil and acrylic on canvas
213 x 304 cm (diptych)
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Allegory of the Endless Morning - 2011 —2012

Oil, acrylic, household gloss and pencil on canvas, dental plaster
213 x 1051 cm (6 canvas)
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Julian schnabel

photo - PHOTO BY STEVE CLUTE
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Tour of Hell II - 2008 —2015

Inkjet print and spray paint on polyester
305 x 226 cm
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Liu Wei

photo - Doors
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True Dimension no.18 - 2014

Oil on canvas
Composed by 3 parts, total: 300 x 500 cm (each: 300 x 150 cm, 300 x 200 cm, 300 x 150 cm)
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Purple Air-U - 2008

Oil on canvas
400 x 300 cm
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Lu Hao

Peng Peng Cars - 2002

max. 70 x 27 x 45 cm
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Lucio Fontana

photo - photo courtesy ©Fondazione Lucio Fontana
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Concetto Spaziale

Watercolour
51 x 71 cm, 48 x 67 cm
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Michelangelo Pistoletto

photo - Photo Oak Taylor Smith
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Vortice-dittico - 2013

Black and silver mirror, gilded wood


203 x 300 cm
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Pascale Marthine Tayou

photo - Courtesy of The Bass
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Charcoal L - 2012

Charcoal
133x255x4.5 cm
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Chalks & Pins X - 2012

Chalks and pins
165 x 212 x 8 cm
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Rashid Johnson

photo - RASHID JOHNSON. COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HAUSER & WIRTH/PHOTO: KENDALL MILLS
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The wave - 2014

Burned red oak flooring, black soap, wax
6 panels of 86 x 307,5 x 5,5 cm each
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Sterling Ruby

photo - Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
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Scale (5422) WB. GR. CAP - 2015

Steel, paint, cardboard, mixed media
543.6 x 449.6 x 342.9 cm
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BC (4771) A, BC (4771) B, BC (4771) C, BC (4771) D - 2014

Fabric, glue, paint, dyed canvas on panel
320 x 243.8 x 5.1 cm
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Monument stalagmite/ Everyday Carry - 2012

Mixed media
541 x 101,6 x 160 cm
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Drop Blocks - 2011 —2013

Formica and spray paint (blocks, fabric and fiber fill (drops))
1x 457 x 61 x 61 cm, 1x 447 x 60 x 40 cm, 5x 447 x 60 x 40 cm, 2x 349 x 45 x 30 cm, 6x 457 x 61 x 61 cm, 2x 390 x 97 x 61 cm
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SP217

Spray paint on canvas
406.4 x 597 x 5 cm (5 panels)
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Sudarshan Shetty

photo - Photo: Mandar Deodhar
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Untitled (from Listen Outside this House)-Mahabharata - 2011

Mahabharata book, pages from Mahabharata book, print on paper, wooden bench
135 x 103 cm
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Untitled (from Listen Outside this House) - Slideshow - 2011

Digital slideshow
1 min
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Untitled (from Listen Outside this House)-Monument - 2011

Teak wood, perspex
350 x 260 cm
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Sui Jianguo

Made in China - 1999

Bronze
3 pieces of each 320 x 200 x 200 cm
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Thomas Houseago

photo - Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images.
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Yet to be titled (invisible masks canvas) - 2013

Graphite, charcoal, acrylic and oil on canvas
274,3 x 182,9 x 5,1 cm
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Yet to be titled (Helmet on plinth) - 2013

Bronze
213.4 x 83.8 x 81.3 cm Base: (HxWxD) 114 x 60 x 60 cm Head: (HxWxD) 95 x 77.5 x 82.5 cm
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Untitled (Red Man) - 2008

Bronze
396,24 x 152,4 x 121,92 cm
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Thukral & Tagra

Escape / Reset - 2012

Oil and acrylic on canvas with LED lights and electrical fittings
183 x 122 x 4 cm (8 panels)
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Tracey Emin

photo - Photo: Alamy Stock Photo
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And So I Loved You - 2015

23 x 150,5 x 8 cm
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Wang Du

photo - Photo Aniu et Anaïs Martane
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Missils - 2008

Newspapers, polyester resin, nylon thread, metal
365 pieces, each 90 x 15 cm
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Wang Jianwei

photo - Photo by Xiao Mi. All images courtesy of the artist and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
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Bentham's Panopton - 2011

Wood, steel, light
300 x 640 x 640 cm
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Xu Zhen

photo - © Adrien Bernard / Fondation Louis Vuitton
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12'91'' - 2005

Expanded polymeric, wood, metal, resin
260 x 400 x 1000 cm
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