Lee Ufan was born in South Korea in 1936, where he studied philosophy, establishing the conceptual basis for the development of his work. Later, in 1956, he moved to Japan, where he gained notoriety as a central figure of the Japanese Mono-ha movement. He achieved international recognition, highlighting his participation in the Tokyo Biennial in the 1970s and his exhibitions in museums such as the Guggenheim in New York in 2011 and the Pompidou Center in 2019.

In his early works, such as "Fourth Structure (I and II)" and "Landscape (I and II)," Lee played with the unreliability of vision, employing optical illusions created with shapes and fluorescent paint. He also staged several performances, including dropping a large stone into a glass and breaking it in response to student demonstrations in Japan in the late 1960s.

In his early works, such as "Fourth Structure (I and II)" and "Landscape (I and II)," Lee played with the unreliability of vision, employing optical illusions created with shapes and fluorescent paint

The Mono-ha movement, to which Lee Ufan was particularly prominent, rejected traditional artistic notions, exploring materials and their properties as a reaction to Japan's industrialization. This movement flourished between the late 1960s and early 1970s. Within this movement, Lee often juxtaposed natural and industrial elements, adopting a minimalist approach, combining materials such as stone and cotton or metal and glass.

The Mono-ha movement, to which Lee Ufan was particularly prominent, rejected traditional artistic notions, exploring materials and their properties as a reaction to Japan's industrialization

Lee's approach to minimalism was different, involving the viewer with objects, space and his or her own body, which diverged from American minimalist artists. Lee Ufan sought to establish a dialogue with the environment, incorporating the viewer's body and creating tensions between industrial materials and natural elements.

Lee's approach to minimalism was different, involving the viewer with objects, space and his or her own body. Lee Ufan sought to establish a dialogue with the environment

As an international artist, Lee constantly emphasized the universality of his work, rejecting the term Orientalism as a reduction of the diversity of Asian cultures. Influenced by his philosophical education, he approached abstract concepts such as the Chinese and Japanese term "Ma" or Martin Heidegger's "Dasein".

Throughout his painting career, Lee navigated the abstract painting realm, exploring concepts of synthesis such as the dot and the line, or the wind. In constant creative evolution, he moved from the tension and stillness created by dots to the sense of movement and direction of his lines. Although he eventually adopted geometric abstraction, he retained his characteristic expressive brushstrokes on canvas, with notable series such as From Point (1970s), From Wind Series (1980s) and his Dialog series, developed in the 2020s.

In constant creative evolution, he moved from the tension and stillness created by dots to the sense of movement and direction of his lines.