Lee Ufan: ‘I try to bring together those things which are made and unmade’

Lee Ufan, the South Korean artist and founding member of the Mono-ha movement, is being honored with a major solo exhibition at SMAC San Marco Art Centre as an official Collateral Event of the Venice Biennale, marking his 90th year. Simultaneously, a new display of his painting and sculpture opens at Dia Beacon in New York State, and his first show in Portugal opens at Casa e Parque de Serralves in July. In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Ufan discusses his artistic journey, his rejection of the artist's hand, and the influence of seeing a Barnett Newman exhibition at MoMA in 1971, which led him to develop his signature From Point and From Line paintings that use repeated marks to express the passage of time.

Next stop – infinity! My transcendental experience on Japan’s ‘art island’ guided by its master Lee Ufan

The article profiles Korean-born artist Lee Ufan, who turns 90 next month, and his transcendental art on Japan's Naoshima island. It describes his upcoming major shows: a retrospective in Venice coinciding with the Biennale, and an exhibition at Dia Beacon in New York. Lee, a key figure in the Mono-ha movement, creates works like the steel arch "Porte Vers l'Infini" on Naoshima that engage with nature and perception. The piece traces his career from early violent, resistant sculptures involving cracked glass and boulders to later meditative paintings and installations.

Where to go this weekend?

Wohin am Wochenende?

This week's art tips include Anton Corbijn's birthday exhibition at Fotografiska Berlin, featuring iconic portraits alongside personal favorites; the 25th anniversary of Daniel Libeskind's extension at the Jewish Museum Berlin; Refik Anadol's first Belgian AI-driven installation at Brusk in Bruges; the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt's 40th anniversary weekend with free entry and performances; and a Lee Ufan solo show at Dia Beacon in New York, following his Wolfgang Hahn Prize.

Lee Ufan stars in Venice with a major exhibition by Dia Art Foundation

Dia Art Foundation presents a major solo exhibition of Lee Ufan at SMAC Venice, opening May 9, 2026, as an Official Collateral Event of the 61st Venice Biennale. Curated by Jessica Morgan, the show spans over sixty years of the artist's career, featuring historical and unseen paintings, monumental installations, and new site-specific works across eight rooms. It includes seminal series such as *From Point*, *From Line*, *From Winds*, *With Winds*, *Correspondance*, and *Dialogue*, tracing Lee's evolution from the 1960s to the present.

Lee Ufan donates eight paintings to Dia Art Foundation

Korean artist Lee Ufan, a key figure in the Mono-ha movement, has donated eight paintings from the 1970s to the 1990s to the Dia Art Foundation in New York. The works, from his From Point, From Line, and With Winds series, will be featured in a spring 2026 exhibition at Dia Beacon alongside sculptural installations already in the foundation's collection. Lee is also collaborating with Avant Arte on a limited-edition print release to support Dia's programming.

Paris exhibition presents exceptional jewels—but Louvre heist treasures missing from line up

An exhibition titled 'Dynastic Jewels' opens at the Hôtel de La Marine in Paris, showcasing over 130 exceptional jewels dating primarily from 1800 to 1920. The show includes pieces linked to Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria, and Prince Albert, many displayed in the city for the first time. However, three major treasures—an 1853 pearl and diamond tiara and two sets of pearl earrings belonging to French Empresses Eugénie and Joséphine—are missing after being stolen from the Louvre Museum in October 2025. The exhibition draws loans from the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Al Thani Collection, which occupies the venue under a long-term contract with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux.

‘Close, yet distant': MMCA exhibition revisits Korea-Japan artistic ties since 1945

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon, South Korea, has opened a major exhibition titled “Art between Korea and Japan since 1945,” co-organized with the Yokohama Museum of Art. Running from May 14 to September 27, 2026, the show marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties between the two countries. Featuring some 200 works by 43 artists, including Zainichi artists and video art pioneer Nam June Paik, the exhibition traces eight decades of artistic exchange shaped by colonialism, war, division, and ongoing tensions. It previously opened in Yokohama, drawing over 37,000 visitors—significantly surpassing typical attendance—with strong interest from younger audiences.