Guy Ullens, Collector Who Championed Chinese Contemporary Art, Dies at 90

Ullens ‘believed above all in the power of art to enrich lives and create connections across cultures,’ UCCA’s director Philip Tinari said in tribute

Guy Ullens, a Belgian aristocrat, entrepreneur and art collector whose founding of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in Beijing provided a crucial platform for Chinese artists and helped propel them onto the international stage, died on April 19 at the age of 90.

His death was announced by the UCCA, which he set up with his second wife, Myriam, who died at the age of 73 in 2023. The center described Ullens as “one of the most important international supporters in the development of Chinese contemporary art,” and