Lee Ufan Kyongsangnamdo, Korea, b. 1936
Further images
“When i passively accept external winds, an even greater world is opened.” — Lee Ufan
In 1989, Lee Ufan wrote: “How open the world, how suggestive […]! I want to enlarge and deepen the exchange with the exciting and stimulating outside world instead of soliloquizing and showing obedience to the dictatorship of expression.” This embrace of external forces marked a turning point in his work, leading to a heightened dialogue between presence and absence, gesture and emptiness.
Created at the peak of the With Winds period, this piece embodies the vitality and unpredictability of the series. The brushstrokes shift direction mid-motion, teetering between control and spontaneity. The resulting tension invites viewers to engage with the painting’s metaphorical depth—an extension of Lee Ufan's lifelong philosophical inquiry, which permeates both his art and theoretical writings.