The exhibition, titled “Lee Yufan,” opened at Kukje Gallery in downtown Seoul on Tuesday and will run until May 28. It features six sculptures and four drawings, showcasing Lee’s work from the 1980s to his most recent work.
The 86-year-old, a pioneer of the Japanese Mono-ha movement, often translated as “school of things,” is reported by Yonhap News Agency to be a huge influence and his paintings have sold for the highest prices among living Korean artists.
Lee’s work is characterized by frequent brushstrokes of simple dots and lines in paintings, as well as sculptures composed of stone and steel plates known as the “Rellatum” series which began in the 1960s.
Among the works on display is Relatum – The Sound Drum (1996/2023), which consists of stone resting on a hollow steel cylinder. From the five holes on the surface of the drum, the sound of the Emile Bell, the largest bronze bell in Korea, comes out, as well as the sounds of nature, including those of songbirds, rain, thunder, and streams.
WWA