To make art for ninety years even reaching the midpoint of such a career would be remarkable in itself. Lee Ufan turns ninety in 2026 and the art world is not marking the occasion quietly: three retrospectives, three cities, three institutions, simultaneously. From New York to Venice to Porto, this triad demonstrates both the scope and the durability of Ufan’s practice.
One Brushstroke, One Stone, One Silence
For those encountering Lee Ufan for the first time: he is a Korean-born artist trained in Japan who became one of the founding figures of the Mono-ha movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Mono-ha brought Japanese and Korean Minimalism into dialogue, investigating the direct relationship between material and space unworked stones, iron plates, natural materials placed face to face in gallery settings.
Ufan has remained consistent within this lineage without standing still. His paintings carry a small number of brushstrokes, each placed exactly where it belongs, each weighted precisely right. His sculptures set large stones and metal rods in relation to each other a balance in which each element can feel the weight of the other. These are not works that celebrate scarcity; they are works in which scarcity is given enough space to speak.
Three Cities, Three Institutions
This year’s three major presentations:
- Venice — SMAC San Marco Art Centre: A major retrospective organised by the Dia Art Foundation, running until 21 November 2026. Presented as part of the Venice Biennale collateral programme, this places Ufan’s practice at the centre of the international art world’s most concentrated gathering of the year.
- New York — Dia Beacon: A focused presentation at the Dia Art Foundation’s upstate New York venue in Beacon.
- Porto — Serralves Foundation: An exhibition at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves opening from September 2026.
Why Now, Why at This Scale?
The ninetieth birthday is clearly a catalyst. But three institutions opening space for a single artist simultaneously, at this scale, is not merely a birthday greeting: it is also an endorsement of Mono-ha’s re-evaluated place in art history.
The sensibility that travelled from the Korean Peninsula to Japan was, through much of the 1960s, largely overshadowed by Western Minimalism. The institutional interest Mono-ha now attracts is a sign that this shadow has partially lifted. Lee Ufan remains the key reference for anyone reading that shift.
FAQ: Lee Ufan at 90
- Who is Lee Ufan?
Born in 1936 in Korea, trained in Japan, Lee Ufan became one of the founding figures of the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s a significant strand of Minimalist practice in Japan. He works in painting and sculpture with a practice of deep engagement through minimal means. He gained further international recognition through permanent installations and his own museum on Naoshima Island (2010) and at the Palace of Versailles (2015).
Which exhibitions can be seen this year?
Venice, SMAC San Marco Art Centre: Organised by the Dia Art Foundation, until 21 November 2026. Dia Beacon, New York: focused presentation. Serralves Foundation, Porto: from September 2026.
- What is Mono-ha?
A movement that emerged in 1960s Japan investigating the relationship between natural and industrial materials (stone, iron, water, glass) in their unworked state and the space they inhabit. Lee Ufan is both its leading theorist and its most important practitioner.
NO-26 Note
Lee Ufan’s practice actively resists the logic of acceleration that dominates contemporary art consumption. A single exhibition can sustain hours of attention; a single brushstroke is a question in itself. This year offers three chances across three cities. In Venice, the Biennale season already provides a reason to be there adding SMAC to the programme is a straightforward call. Porto is worth the separate trip.
