ARTIST CASE STUDY: Lee Ufan
- May 23
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Lee Ufan (b.1936, Korea) is an artist, philosopher, writer and theorist whose practice has had a major influence on post-war contemporary art. Lee moved to Japan in 1956, where he studied philosophy at Nihon University in Tokyo. His philosophical training became central to the development of his art practice, particularly his interest in perception, emptiness, material presence and the relationship between the viewer and the world. Lee is best known as a leading figure of Mono-ha, or the "School of Things", a Japanese art movement that emerged in the late 1960s. Rather than focusing on the artist's hand as a form of self-expression, Mono-ha explored the relationships between raw materials, objects, space and human perception.
Lee's work is often minimal in appearance, but conceptually complex. His sculptures frequently combine natural and industrial materials, such as stone, steel, glass, wood, rope and light. These materials are usually arranged with restraint, allowing their physical presence to speak without being overworked or transformed. In works from his Relatum series, Lee places materials in relation to one another so that meaning is created through balance, tension, proximity and space. A stone beside a steel plate, a beam suspended above the floor, or a boulder casting a shadow becomes more than an arrangement of objects. The work becomes an encounter between material, space, viewer and time.
This idea of encounter is central to Lee's practice. His artworks do not operate as closed objects with fixed meanings. Instead, they ask the viewer to become aware of the space around the work, the silence between objects, and the body's own presence in relation to what is being seen. Lee's practice draws attention to what is often overlooked: emptiness, pause, distance, shadow, stillness and the space between things. In this way, the artwork is not only the object itself, but also the relationship created between object, viewer and environment.
Lee's understanding of mu, or nothingness, is especially important to my own research. In his work, nothingness does not mean emptiness as absence or lack. Instead, it becomes an active space of possibility. The empty space around an object is just as important as the object itself. This understanding of mu allows meaning to remain unresolved and shifting. It resists over-explanation and allows the work to exist in a state of quiet tension. Lee's practice shows that an artwork does not need to be visually crowded or overloaded to be powerful.
Lee has strongly influenced the way I am thinking about my own bodies of work, Life in Pieces and Mu (無) Part 1. His practice has helped me think more carefully about how materials can hold meaning without needing to be overworked. The use of concrete, resin, digital video and bodily fragments in Life in Pieces can be understood through relationships rather than excess. Lee's influence encourages me to allow space and material presence to do more of the conceptual work. Mu (無) Part 1 is concerned with the interval between things: between walking and stopping, remembering and forgetting, visibility and disappearance, restriction and openness. The holes in the safety barrier mesh, the gaps between the cyanotypes, the delicate rice paper, and the stitched lines can all carry meaning. Rather than treating emptiness as something missing, I can use it as an active part of the work. This is where Lee's understanding of mu becomes important to my own process. The space between materials can become as meaningful as the materials themselves.
Lee Ufan's practice has inspired me to trust restraint. His work shows that a single stone, a line, a brushstroke, a shadow or an empty space can hold emotional and philosophical weight. This has encouraged me to question whether my own work needs more, or whether it needs less. Lee's work gives me permission to simplify and slow down. His practice reminds me that minimalism is not emptiness without meaning. It is a way of creating space for deeper attention.
By using mu as both a philosophy and a method, I can allow my artworks to remain open, unresolved and quietly tense. This connects strongly to my experience of illness, memory and changing physical capacity.
References:
Art Gallery of New South Wales 2024, Lee Ufan: Quiet Resonance, exhibition, viewed 23 May 2026, <https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/lee-ufan>.
Dia Art Foundation 2024, One Work at Dia Beacon: Torkwase Dyson on Lee Ufan’s Relatum, 1974/2019, online video, viewed 23 May 2026, <https://www.diaart.org/media/watch-listen/one-work-at-dia-beacon-torkwase-dyson-on-lee-ufans-relatum-19742019/media-type/video>. (Figure 5)
Louisiana Channel 2025, Artist Lee Ufan: Something Appears From Nothing, online video, YouTube, 24 January, viewed 23 May 2026, <https://youtu.be/z9_iC4RWr5M?si=xTpW2RhIVxOktIqD>. (Figure 1)
Studio Lee Ufan 2026, website, viewed 23 May 2026, <https://www.studioleeufan.org>. (Figures 2-4)
Tate 2026, Mono-ha, viewed 23 May 2026, <https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/mono-ha>.
