Lee Ufan Museum. Naoshima Island Japan
It is the first museum in the world devoted solely to the work of the Korean‑Japanese (resident in Japan) artist Lee Ufan.
Lee Ufan Museum was designed by the noted Japanese architect Tadao Ando, in collaboration with the artist.
The museum is situated in a gently sloping valley near the Seto Inland Sea, surrounded by hills — the architecture is embedded in the landscape.
Tadao Ando’s design uses his signature reinforced concrete, with clean geometric forms, and integrates large spans, natural light, shadows, and views of nature.
Lee Ufan’s art similarly emphasizes minimal intervention, materials in relation, space, time, breathing, and the interval between object and observer.
The synergy of art, architecture and nature makes visiting less about “just looking” and more about experiencing a contemplative space.
Lee Ufan Museum presents paintings, sculptures, installations by Lee Ufan spanning from the 1970s to the present. The works include combinations of natural stone, steel plates, large slabs, repetition of brush strokes, use of air/space.
If you’re interested in contemporary art, particularly minimalist or material‑based work, this is a major site because Lee Ufan is one of the key figures of the “Mono‑ha” movement (Japanese for “School of Things”) which emphasized the material itself and its relation to space/time.
ft/ Kate Zaniewska
