Lee Ufan Versailles

From 17 June to 2 November 2014,the Palace of Versailles welcomes the Korean artist Lee Ufan for a major contemporary art exhibition in the gardens.

In the château of Versailles, Lee Ufan's intense and silent sculptural forms have been installed at the foot of the Gabriel Staircase, in the majestic perspective designed by Le Nôtre, and along the paths and in the groves, temporarily complementing and transforming the atmosphere of these places.
Born in 1936 in South Korea, Lee Ufan was initially raised in Far Eastern traditions. He settled in Japan when he was twenty years old, studying philosophy while also discovering abstract Western painting. He became one of the protagonists of the artistic movement called Mono-ha, a term that can be tranlated as "School of Things". His artistic approach adheres both to sculpture's most contemporary issues, while also being deeply rooted in traditions.

Lee Ufan's scuptures most often instigate a confrontation between two materials : steel plates and natural stones. They all bear the generic term "Relatum", expressing that the work of art is not an independent and autonomous entity, but that it exists in relation with the exterior world. These works transcend their cultural origins. They transmit their formal force and their philosophical insightfulness to the spectator, prompting meditation.

Lee Ufan lives in Kamakura, Japan, but maintains close relations with France, where he has worked for more than twenty years in his Parisian studio. He has exhibited in numerous cultural institutions around the world, and a museum devoted to his work, conceived by Lee Ufan in collaboration with architect Tadao Ando, was opened in 2010 on Naoshima Island in Japan.
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