Ugo Mulas Biography
Ugo Mulas (1928-1973) was one of the most important international photographers of the post-war period, known above all for his street photography and portraits of artists. Born in Pozzolengo, Italy, he initially studied law in Milan before dedicating himself to art and photography. Mostly self-taught, Mulas was called to photograph the Venice Biennale from 1954 to 1972 and worked side by side with many artists. After discovering Pop Art at the 1964 Biennial, Mulas decided to go to the United States, where he wrote his book New York: The New Art Scene (1967), photographing important figures such as Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein and Barnett Newman. His meetings with Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, and his discovery of the photography of Robert Frank and Lee Friedlander, influenced his work of the late 1960s.
His interests in artistic practice lead him to photograph Italian and foreign artists of the 50s and 60s in their studios while they are at work (Lucio Fontana, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and many others).
Mulas developed a profound rethinking of the historical function of photography and these aesthetic and phenomenological reflections led to his portfolio on Marcel Duchamp (1972) and the Archive for Milan project (1969-72). His latest series of works, “Verifiche”, summarizes his experience and dialogue with the art world; is an important study on the concept of photography, composed of texts and images produced through intense work in the darkroom.
Among the international institutions that have exhibited his works we remember: Kunsthalle, Basel (1971); PAC-Pavilion of Contemporary Art, Milan, MAXXI, Rome, GAM-Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Turin (2007–2008); Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2010); the Center Pompidou, Paris (2015); and Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris (2016).
