Guggenheim Museum introduces Lee U-fan

The first retrospective exhibition in the U.S. on South Korean artist Lee U-fan opened on Friday at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Titled “Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity,” the exhibition looks back on the artist’s career of almost half a century by presenting 90 of his iconic sculptures, paintings, drawings and installations from the 1960s to the present. He is the second Korean artist to hold a solo-exhibition at the prestigious museum following video artist Paik Nam-june in 2000.

Lee is well known for his simple but thought-provoking installations featuring rocks and steel, and paintings consisting of only a few brush strokes. He is also a philosopher recognized as the key theorist of Mono-ha, an antiformalist movement. The artist held numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and is actively working in Korea, Japan and Europe. The Lee Ufan Museum, designed by Tadao Ando, opened at Benesse Art Site Naoshima, in Japan in 2010.

“Lee U-fan is an artist of extraordinary creative vision. Admired, even revered, abroad, Lee is surprisingly little known in North America, and this late-career survey, which we offer to the public as part of the Guggenheim’s Asian Art Initiative, is overdue,” noted Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation.

The exhibition will feature signature works from Lee’s major series including “From Point and From Line” (1972–84), “From Winds” (1982–86), “With Winds” (1987–91), “Correspondance” (1991–2006), “Dialogue” (2006–present) and “Relatum” (1968–present).

The exhibition is organized by Alexandra Munroe, Samsung senior curator of Asian Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. It received lead sponsorship from the Samsung Group and major support by the Korea Foundation. Exhibits are on loan from major public and private collections in Korea, Japan, Europe and the United States.

A richly illustrated 200-page catalogue surveying the artist’s works from the 1960s to the present as well as the artist’s writings accompanies the show. It is the first of its kind to be published in English.

The exhibition runs through Sept. 28 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Admission is $18 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. For more information, call 212-423-3500 or visit guggenheim.org.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)