SMAC - San Marco Art Centre
Lee Ufan
Dia Art Foundation presents a major solo presentation of work by Lee Ufan - until November 22 - at - SMAC Venice - curated - Jessica Morgan - developed in close partnership with the artist and supported by - Pace gallery, the exhibition traces the evolution of seven decades of Lee Ufan's iconic visual language with works ranging from new and historical paintings to large-scale installations and a new site-specific commission. Developed in close partnership with the artist, the exhibition traces his iconic visual language with works ranging from new and historical paintings to large-scale installations and a new site-specific commission.
Relatum - Formerly Iron Field - 1969/2026
Lee, one of the foremost figures of the Japanese Mono-ha - School of Things - as well as a key contributor to the Korean Dansaekhwa - Monochromatic Paintings - movements, has long explored the possibilities of embodying and representing space and time through painterly gestures on canvas. The metaphysical observations of the relationship between entities are similarly explored in his site-specific paintings that are made directly on the floor and walls of a given space. Here, the architecture is part of the dialogue between the painted and the unpainted, the mark and the surrounding space.
Response - Excavated I - 2022
From Line - 1980 - comprises a downward stroke that captures a singular moment, exemplifying Lee's concern with the passage of time. With these reductive, repetitive gestures, the artist meditates on the act of painting and enduring examination of the representation of space - emphasizing absence and presence - as well as the cyclical nature of existence articulated through the systematic act of the brushstroke's release of paint.
From Line - 1980
With Winds - 1990
The Correspondance series is a return to an emphasis on the foregrounding empty space made evident by the surrounding elements. In their sparseness, the artist's strokes make clear the relation between unpainted and painted space, between absence and presence.
Correspondance - 1994
Two locally sourced, rounded stones - intentionally selected for their specific forms - flank a mirrored path that rests atop a layer of pebbles that fill the space. The room-sized installation invites the viewer to traverse a shifting terrain, moving from the unstable surface of the pebbles to the smooth, reflective path in an experience that oscillates between the natural and the industrial.
Relatum - The Mirror Road - 2021-2022
The exhibition is staged across eight of SMAC Venice’s galleries at the Procuratie in Piazza San Marco, holistically, it is designed to reflect both Lee’s long-standing dialogue with architectural space and his continued commitment to creating environments that prompt reflection and heightened awareness.
