Amalia Ulman (born 1989) is an Argentine-Spanish artist and film director whose practice includes

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

, installation,

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

and net-art works. Her work deals with issues of class, gender, sexuality, and middlebrow aesthetics. In 2021, Ulman made her feature film debut, with '' El Planeta''.

Early life

Ulman was born in Argentina in 1989 and was raised in

Gijón Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality by population in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coa ...

, in the Spanish province of

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

, after emigrating with her family. In 2009, she left Spain to study at

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

in London, where she graduated in 2011. In 2013, she was in a serious

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

bus accident that left her with a permanent disability.

Career

In April 2013, Ulman presented a video essay ''Buyer, Walker, Rover'' as a Skype lecture at the Regional State Archives in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. In 2014, she presented two solo shows in Los Angeles, ''Used & New'' at ltd Los Angeles and ''Delicious Works'' at Smart Objects, also in LA. The same year Ulman started ''Excellences & Perfections'', a four-month performance on her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account where she fabricated fictional characters whose story unfolded in three different episodes. Her intention was to prove how easy an audience can be manipulated through the use of mainstream archetypes. Instagram

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...

s were mainly taken sneaking into hotels and restaurants in Los Angeles and posted as if they were documenting a real life. It is a work that shifts the location of performance art and also extends ideas about feminist performance. ''Excellences and Perfections'' was later chosen to be a part of the Electronic Superhighway Exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery in 2016. Amalia Ulman at The Influencers 2015

In October 2014, during

Frieze Art Fair Frieze Art Fair is an annual contemporary art, contemporary art festival, art fair first held in 2003 in London's Regent's Park. Developed by the founders of the contemporary art magazine ''Frieze (magazine), Frieze'', the fair has since expan ...

, Ulman presented a solo show ''The Destruction of Experience'' at Evelyn Yard in London. For the show Ulman made "The Future Ahead", a video essay about

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's "growth from angelic teenager to hetero-normative white male". In January 2015, she presented ''Stock Images of War,'' her first solo show in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at James Fuentes Gallery. It is an immersive installation composed of twelve simple wire-frame sculptures, each one being named after a different month of the year – i.e. "War in January", "War in February", etc. Towards the end of the same year, Ulman started ''Privilege,'' a second, year long, Instagram performance that lasted until shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The work presented an exaggerated version of Ulman that explored multiplicity in a corporate office setting. In 2016 ''Excellences and Perfections'' was selected to be included in the group exhibition ''Performing for the Camera'' at

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, London (February—June 2016). The exhibition, examined the relationship between

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and performance, brought together over 500 works spanning 150 years from the invention of photography to the

-culture of today. Through Ulman's Instagram-based project,

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

was examined in the historical context of photographic performances. The installation was also part of the exhibition ''Electronic Highway'' at

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fi ...

in London. Ulman has been described as the first social network-based artist to enter top institutional galleries, and the "First great Instagram Artist" by Elle magazine. In 2018, ''Excellences & Perfections'' was published as a book by

Prestel Prestel was the Brand#Brand names and trademark, brand name of a videotex service launched in the UK in 1979 by BT Group#Post Office Telecommunications, Post Office Telecommunications, a division of the British Post Office Limited#History, Po ...

. It includes the Instagram posts that she used for the project and essays by German artist

Hito Steyerl Hito Steyerl (born 1 January 1966) is a German filmmaker, moving image visual artist, artist, writer, and innovator of the essay documentary.feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, '' El Planeta'', at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

to critical acclaim. Ulman wrote, produced, and directed the feature, which stars herself and her mother. An absurdist comedy, the film centers on the story of a mother and daughter facing eviction in post-crisis Spain and scamming their way to a more comfortable lifestyle. The film is loosely based on the real-life Spanish mother-daughter petty-crime duo Justina and Ana Belén. The film was shot in black and white in Gijon, the Spanish town where Ulman grew up. In March 2021, film distribution company Utopia announced that it had bought the North American rights to ''El Planeta''. The film was selected for screening at the

Brisbane International Film Festival The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...

and the

Sydney Film Festival The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize. , the festival's director is Nashen Moodley. Histo ...

in October and November 2021 respectively. Ulman's next film will deal with

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and will be shot in northern Argentina, where she was born.

Personal life

As of 2021, Ulman lives with her husband in New York City. Ulman is

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

Solo exhibitions

* ''Savings & Shelves,'' Headquarters, Zurich * ''Overcome, cleanse,'' Galeria Adriana Suarez, Gijon * ''Promise a Future,'' Marbriers 4, Geneva * ''Moist Forever,'' Future Gallery, Berlin * ''Ethira,'' Arcadia Missa, London * ''Used & New,'' Ltd, Los Angeles * ''Delicious Works,'' Smart Objects, Los Angeles * ''Babyfootprints Crow's Feet,'' Ellis King, Dublin * ''The Destruction of Experience,'' Evelyn Yard Gallery, London * ''Stock Images of War,'' James Fuentes Gallery, New York City * ''International House Of Cozy,'' Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam * ''Reputation,'' New Galerie, Paris * ''Labour Dance,'' Arcadia Missa, London * ''Dignity,'' James Fuentes Gallery, New York City * ''Intolerance,'' Barro, Buenos Aires * ''Monday Cartoons'', Deborah Schamoni, Munich * ''Atchoum!'', Galerie Sympa, Figeac * ''New World 1717'', Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai * ''Privilege,'' James Fuentes Gallery, New York City

Notes

References

External links

* * Cadence Kinsey
"The Instagram artist who fooled thousands"
on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

website.
"Buyer, walker, rover" Skype lecture, Regional State Archives in Gothenburg, 2013
''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulman, Amalia 1989 births 21st-century Spanish women artists Spanish women photographers Living people Spanish contemporary artists Spanish digital artists Argentine digital artists Argentine photographers Argentine women photographers Women digital artists Argentine emigrants to Spain Spanish photographers Spanish sculptors Spanish performance artists Internet art New media artists 21st-century women photographers Spanish expatriates in the United States