Lee Ufan is a master working across disciplines who transformed East Asian art in the mid-20th century. His concepts are profound, while his visual language is extremely restrained. At first glance, his work may resemble the Minimalism emerging in the West at the same time, but its foundations are entirely different.

After briefly studying painting in Seoul for a few months in 1956, Lee Ufan went to Japan to study philosophy instead. By the mid-1970s, however, he had become one of the leading figures in Korea's Dansaekhwa (“monochrome painting”) movement. His renowned From Line and From Point series were inspired by the calligraphy he practiced as a child. Through meditative, repeated movements of lines and dots, these works demonstrate exceptional control of mind, body, and brushstroke.

Lee Ufan makes little distinction between his identities as an artist, poet, and philosopher, because all three have the same aim for him: to reveal the true nature of existence. He once said, “In everyday life... this world is nothing more than an inconsequential landscape, as if it did not exist, and is therefore alienated from us.”

In the late 1960s, he led the Mono-ha movement, literally the 'School of Things.' Rejecting representational objects, the movement sought direct dialogue and physical interaction with the world. His Relatum series, begun in 1968, embodies this approach: unusual yet precise arrangements of abstract materials seek to awaken viewers and free them from habitual, passive modes of perception.

These installation works—for example, Relatum—Phenomena and Perception B (1968), in which a stone presses down on shattered glass, and Relatum—The Arch of Versailles (2014), in which two enormous stones sit at opposite ends of a steel arch—convey a message: our existence is contingent, and the universe is fragile.

Biography: Lee Ufan (male) was born in South Gyeongsang Province, Korea, in 1936 and went to Japan to attend university in 1956. He currently lives and works between Japan and Paris.

Art museums: In addition to having his work held in major public collections around the world, Lee Ufan has two art museums named after him. The Lee Ufan Museum on Naoshima, Japan, was designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando. Lee Ufan Arles, in southern France, is an exhibition space and cultural venue dedicated to presenting his artistic practice and ideas.