From Line (1978)

Born in Haman in 1936, Lee Ufan grew up in Korea during the Japanese colonial period. His work reflects the inextricable link between nature, art, and human consciousness.

A world-renowned painter and sculptor, Lee Ufan is also a founding member of the Mono-ha group, which emerged in the 1960s in response to minimalism and Arte Povera. Referring to the “School of Things,” the Japanese movement focuses on the relationship between industrial and natural materials and their connection to the surrounding space. Similarly, Lee Ufan reconsiders the relationship between the artist and his medium, paying particular attention to the feelings generated by the work rather than its representation. Through sculptures and canvases that are simple in appearance but energetically filled, the artist invites the viewer to experience art in time and space, without mechanically seeking meaning in the creation or attempting to decipher an imposed message.

The From Line series marks the artist's return to painting, which he had set aside for a time in favor of sculpture and installation. "Painting the canvas placed on the floor and following a particular breathing technique, he engages his whole body in an act that could be described as performative. Lee Ufan uses a single layer of pigment, drawing a line until there is no more material on the brush. The passage of the brush also marks the passage of time and energy, while the blurred nature of the trace creates a complex and ambiguous spatial situation, where the demarcation between the paint and the canvas becomes difficult to identify." Excerpt from the text by Nicolas-Xavier Ferrand, Minimal, co-published by Dilecta/Pinault Collection, 2025.

The limited edition of the same name is an ultraChromes digital print, produced from the original work as part of a collaboration between Éditions Dilecta and Pinault Collection.

Lee Ufan's work is part of the collections of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima (Japan), the MoMA and the Guggenheim Museum (United States), the Centre Georges Pompidou (France), the Tate Gallery (London), as well as other museums around the world (Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, etc.).