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Lee Ufan 15th Anniversary of the National Art Center, Tokyo
04August
News

Lee Ufan 15th Anniversary of the National Art Center, Tokyo

It is with great pleasure that we present a major retrospective by Lee Ufan (born in 1936), a contemporary artist who has received a great deal of attention internationally as a prominent member of the Japan-based Mono-ha group at the National Art Center, Tokyo commemorating its 15th Anniversary.

Eagerly absorbing a wide range of thought and literature from the East and the West, in the late ’60s and early ’70s, Lee, who focused on the uncertainty of vision, spearheaded Mono-ha (lit. “School of Things”) by combining natural and artificial materials in a temperate manner in both his visual art and writings. Moreover, Lee evolved a worldview based on the notion that all things are interrelated not only in his visual art but also in his writings.

Lee's works liberate art from the world of images, subjects, and meaning, and raise questions about the relationship between things, and things and people. This proves that the entire world exists synchronically and is mutually related. Oddly enough, the threat of the novel coronavirus has forced us to change our anthropocentric worldview. Lee's highly revelatory thought and practice provides us with insights about how we might escape this unprecedented crisis.

The exhibition assembles Lee's most important works, including everything from his earliest pre-Mono-ha pieces, which considered the problem of vision, the Relatum series, which changed the concept of sculpture, and his highly spiritual paintings, which produce a tranquil rhythm. In addition to showcasing Lee's past works, enabling us to trace the trajectory of his creation practice, the exhibition is also scheduled to include his latest ground-breaking efforts.

Date: August 10 (Wed.) – November 7 (Mon.), 2022

Closed on Tuesdays

Opening Hours: 10:00-18:00

*10:00-20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays

(Last admission 30 minutes before closing)

Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo

Special Exhibition Gallery 1E

7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558

Organized by: The National Art Center, Tokyo; The Asahi Shimbun; Japan Arts Council; Agency for Cultural Affairs