In this lithograph created for the Shelter Foundation, Lee Ufan’s preoccupation with traditional Japanese painting but also with ideas such as time, space, fullness, and void is evident. Just slightly below the picture’s center, the artist has placed a short, curved line on the white ground. Upon longer contemplation, minute color particles strewn across the white sheet begin to appear. The viewing experience, with line, color particles, and the white of the paper now standing in constantly shifting relationships to one another, thus evolves into a form of meditation.
Lee Ufan (*1936 in Kyongnam, Korea; living in Kamakura, Japan, and Paris, France)
Originally a student of philosophy, Lee Ufan turned to traditional Japanese painting in 1961. Towards the end of that decade he concerned himself deeply with sculpture and optical illusions. In 1969 he became a key member of the artist group Mono-ha (“Thing School”) which stands in critical contrast to traditional art. Experimenting with different types of materials in the 1970’s, he began the series Relatum, creating meditative art works composed of stone and steel. Further series followed thereafter, such as With Winds (1987) and Correspondence (since 1991). In 2001 he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale. 2010 saw the opening on the island of Naoshima, Japan, of the Lee Ufan Museum built by Tado Ando.
